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BRIEF  BIOGRAPHIES 

OF 

European   Public  Men. 

Edited   by 
THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON. 


RECENTLY    PUBLISHED  : 

BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 


Vol.  I.— ENGLISH  STATESMEN. 
By  Thos.  Wentwokth  Higginson.    $1.50, 

to  follow  immediately 

Vol.  TIL— FRENCH  LEADERS. 
By  Edward  King.    $1.50. 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,        .        .        .    New  York. 


Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES 


ENGLISH 


Radical    Leaders 


By 
R.  J.  HINTON. 


NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 

G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 

(irije  l^ttkkrrljockcr  ^rcss 
iSS6 


CoFTKIOnT. 

6.  p.  PUTNAM'S  S0N8, 
1875. 


Preface. 


HE  preparation  of  this  little  volume  has  been  a 
pleasant  task.  It  has  afforded  an  opportunity  to 
delineate  not  only  some  of  the  most  influential 
of  living  Englishmen,  but  also  the  popular  agitations  and 
reforms  through  which  their  influence  has  been  exerted. 
For  this  purpose  it  has  been  necessary  to  carry  the  read- 
er into  a  domain  little  known  to  Americans,  even  to  those 
Americans  who  have  personally  visited  the  mother  coun- 
try. English  governing  influences  are  in  a  great  measure 
social,  rather  than  political  ;  and  American  travellers 
usually  see  little  of  the  life  of  the  English  people,  and 
often  know  less  than  they  see.  Bearing  in  mind  this  fact, 
I  have  tried  in  each  case  to  link  the  man  and  his  work 
together,  pointing  out  not  merely  the  personal  qualities  of 


6  PREFACE. 

the   individual,  but  his   importance  as  the  representative 
of  some  principle  or  popular  movement. 

Few  of  those  described  in  this  volume  are  distin 
guished  for  social  position,  wealth,  or  literary  culture  ;  but 
they  all  have  sincerity,  earnestness,  experience  and  the 
power  to  make  their  influence  felt  among  the  people.  It 
has  seemed  to  me — an  Englishman  born  and  reared,  an 
American  by  choice,  service,  and  loyal  belief  in  the  re- 
public,— that  the  story  of  these  lives  was  worth  telling,  if 
only  to  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  democratic  prin- 
ciples are  gradually  penetrating  and  re-moulding  the  in- 
stitutions of  Great  Britain. 

RICHARD  J.  HINTON. 


CONTENTS. 


PART-  I. 
THE    INDEPENDENT    MEMBERS. 

PAGB 

I. — Professor  Fawcett 1 1 

II. — Sir  Charles  \V.  Dilke 25 

III. — Peter  A.  Taylor 5^ 

IV. — Sir  John  Lubbock 71 

V. — Joseph  Cowen 77 

VI. — Robert  Meek  Carter 86 

PART  II. 

THE    LABOR    AGITATION    AND    ITS    FRIENDS. 

VII. — Thomas  Hughes gg 

VIII. — Anthony  J.  Mundella 121 

IX. — Alexander  Macdonald 142 

X. — Thomas  Brassey i^g 

XI.— Samuel  Morley 178 

PART  III. 

PARLIAMENTARY   AGITATORS. 

XII.— Samuel  Plimsoll 189 

XIII. — Sir  Wilfred  Lawson 209 

XIV. — Edward  Miall 222 

XV. — Henry   Richards 239 


8  CONTENTS. 

PART  IV. 

POPULAR   LEADERS. 

XVI. — George   Jacob    Holyoake 255 

XVII. — Joseph  Arch 275 

XVIII. — Charles  Bradlaugh 305 

XIX. — George  Odger 326 

XX. — Joseph  Chamberlain 347 


PART  I. 
THE  INDEPENDENT  MEMBERS. 


Professor  Fawcett. 


BLIND  scholar  is  not  so  unusual  a  phenomenon 
in  the  history  of  intellect  and  culture  as  to  ex- 
cite marked  attention,  but  a  blind  statesman  or 
successful  politician  is  so  uncommon  a  character  as  to 
arouse  extraordinar}'  interest.  In  the  case  of  Professor 
Fawcett  there  is  ample  justification  for  this  feeling.  In 
spite  of  all  the  drawbacks  which  his  infirmity  creates,  there 
are  not  a  half  a  dozen  public  men  in  Great  Britain  more 
likely  than  the  member  for  Hackney  to  become,  at  a  day 
not  very  distant,  the  Prime  Minister  of  that  great  empire. 
While  the  Professor  cannot  be,  in  any  way,  considered  a 
Republican,  except  in  the  same  sense  as  are  all  advanced 
Liberals  in  England,  yet  were  it  possible  to  now  organize  a 
Republic  there,  Professor  Fawcett's  name  would  be  among 
the  foremost  of  those  advanced  for  the  executive  leader- 
ship thereof.  He  is  esteemed  so  universally  a  man  of  such 
wisdom  and  equitable  intention,  as  to  have  thoroughly  won 
public  confidence.     A  friendly  writer  says : — 


12  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

"The  visitor  to  the  House  of  Commons,  waiting  at  the 
door  of  the  Strangers'  Galler)'-,  and  watching  the  members 
of  Parliament  as  they  file  in  by  the  main  entrance,  will  no 
doubt  have  his  eye  particularly  arrested  by  a  tall,  fair- 
haired  young  man,  evidently  blind,  led  up  to  the  door  by  a 
youthful,  petite  lady  with  sparkling  eyes  and  blooming 
cheeks.  She  will  reluctantly  leave  him  at  the  door.  The 
British  Constitution  would  be  quite  upset  were  a  woman  to 
invade  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Commons  after  the  chap- 
lain's incantation  has  been  heard,  even  so  far  as  to  con- 
duct her  blind  husband  to  his  seat,  so  she  has  to  consign 
him  to  a  youth  who  stands  waiting  to  lead  the  blind  mem- 
ber to  his  place.  As  she  turns  away,  many  a  friendly  face 
will  smile,  and  many  a  pleasant  word  attend  her  as  she 
trips  lightly  up  the  stairway  leading  to  the  Ladies'  Cage, 
near  the  roof  of  the  House.  The  whispers  pass  around, 
'  One  day,  perhaps  not  far  off,  she  will  take  her  seat  be- 
side her  husband  and  remain  there.'  And  certain  it  is 
that  when  ladies  have  the  suffrage,  the  first  female  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  will  be  the  lady  of  whom  I  write — Mrs. 
Fawcett.  Not  one-half  of  the  members  of  that  body  are 
so  competent  as  she  to  think  deeply  and  speak  finely 
on  matters  of  public  policy,  while  not  the  daintiest  live 
doll  moving  about  London  drawing-rooms  surpasses  her  in 
care  of  her  household,  her  husband,  and  her  child.  Ihe 
two  whom  I  have  mentioned  are  as  well-known  figures  as 
any  who  approach  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  legislature. 
The  policemen  bow  low  as  they  pass ;  the  crowd  in  the  lobby 
make  a  path  ;  the  door-keeper,  Mr.  White,  the  most  amia- 
ble Cerbei'us  who  ever  guarded  an  entrance,  utters  his 
friendly  welcome.     The  strangers  ask  'Who  is  that?'  and  a 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT,  I  3 

dozen  by-standers  respond,  '  Professor  Fawcett.'  No  one 
can  look  upon  him  but  he  will  see  on  his  face  the  characters 
of  courage,  frankness,  and  intelligence.  He  is  six  feet 
two  inches  in  height,  very  blonde,  his  light  hair  and  com- 
plexion and  his  smooth  beardless  face  giving  him  some- 
thing of  the  air  of  a  boy.  His  features  are  at  once 
strongly  marked  and  regular.  He  narrowly  escaped  being 
handsome,  and  his  expression  is  very  winning.  His  coun- 
tenance is  habitually  serene,  and  no  cloud  or  frown  ever 
passes  over  it.  His  smile  is  gentle  and  winning.  It  is 
probable  that  no  blind  man  has  ever  before  been  able  to 
enter  upon  so  important  a  political  career  as  Professor 
Fawcett,  who,  yet  under  forty  years  of  age,  is  the  most  in- 
fluential of  the  independent  Liberals  in  Parliament.  From 
the  moment  that  he  took  his  seat  in  that  body  he  has  been 
able — and  this  is  unusual — to  command  the  close  attention 
of  the  House.  He  has  a  clear  fine  voice,  speaks  with  the 
utmost  fluency,  has  none  of  the  university  intonation,  and 
none  of  the  hesitation  or  uneasy  attitudes  of  the  average 
Parliamentary  speaker.  He  scorns  all  subterfuges,  speaks 
honestly  his  whole  mind,  and  comes  to  the  point.  At  times 
he  is  eloquent,  and  he  is  always  interesting.  He  is  known 
to  be  a  man  of  convictions.  The  usual  English  political 
theory  that  you  need  not  prove  a  thing  right  in  principle 
if  you  can  show  that  it  for  the  time  works  without  disaster, 
is  one  which  Professor  Fawcett  ignores.  He  defends 
the  right  against  the  wrong,  with  little  respect  to  conse- 
quences." * 

Naturally  such  a  character  has  had  to  encounter  the 
opposition  of  the  ordinary  English  Philistine  in  politics. 

*  Moncure  D.  Conway,  in  Harper's  Mojithly,  February,  1S75. 


14  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

The  author  of  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  declares 
that  the  House  of  Commons  "  will  not  brook  a  lecture  or 
advice  from  a  member  whose  face  and  figure  are  not  so 
familiar  that  they  seem  to  have  become  as  much  a  portion 
of  the  chamber  as  the  clock  over  the  gang^vay  or  the  can- 
opy over  the  Speaker's  chair."  * 

After  referring  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Fawcett,  in  1865. 
to  represent  Brighton,  the  same  author  adds  that  "at  a 
period  when  the  nation  seemed  to  be  awakening  to  the 
desirability  of  having  culture  as  well  as  cotton  represented 
in  Parliament,  Mr.  Fawcett,  like  John  Stuart  Mill,  excited 
in  the  public  mind  a  lively  expectation  of  great  things. 
He  strove  valiantly  to  justify  this  expectation  by  continually 
pronouncing  an  opinion  upon  all  questions  that  cropped 
up."  This  course  tired  the  House,  and  besides,  "  Mr.  Faw- 
cett labored  under  the  additional  disadvantage  of  new 
membership." 

"But,"  continues  this  lively  writer,  "he  is  not  a  man 
who  may  be  smothered  in  the  folds  of  a  wet  blanket.  I 
have  seen  him  stand  for  fifteen  minutes  by  the  clock  over 
the  bar  endeavoring  to  finish  a  sentence  which  the  House 
protested  it  would  not  hear.  It  happened  during  the  de- 
bate on  the  Education  Bill.  The  Ministry  had  coalesced 
with  the  Conservatives  in  the  enterprise  of  passing  a  clause 
which  was  as  wormwood  and  gall  to  hon.  members  below 
the  gangway.  Mr.  Fawcett  was  declaiming  in  a  strain  of 
fervid  eloquence  against  the  spirit  which,  he  said,  had  un- 
accountably taken  possession  of  the  Liberal  Ministry. 
Mr.  Lowe,  in  his  customary  trenchant  style,  had,  earlier  in 

*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  pp.  180,  181. 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT.  I  5 

the  debate,  protested  against  the  unyielding  hostility  of 
the  Irreconcilables,  likening  them  to  a  herd  of  cattle 
which,  having  given  to  them  a  broad  pasture  whereon  to 
browse,  discovered  in  one  corner  a  bed  of  nettles,  and, 
forgetting  the  sweet  pasture  to  be  found  elsewhere,  stood 
bellowing  their  discontent  around  this  little  patch.  'The 
right  hon.  gentleman  has  likened  us  to  a  herd  of  cattle,' 
said  Mr.  Fawcett.  '  Let  me  remind  him  and  the  Ministry, 
of  which  he  is  a  distinguished  member,  of  the  fate  that  befel 
another  herd  into  which  evil  spirits  had  entered,  and  which, 
running  violently  down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea, — ' 
At  this  moment  the  House  caught  the  bold  allusion, 
and  broke  into  a  roar  of  laughter,  cheers,  and  cries  of 
'  Divide  1 '  Mr.  Fawcett  waited  patiently  till  the  storm  ap- 
peared to  have  subsided,  and  then  speaking  in  exactly  the 
same  tone,  began  again  :  '  Which,  running  violently  down 
a  steep  place — '  Once  more  the  roar  drowned  the  speak- 
er's voice,  and  Mr.  Fawcett  stopped,  beginning  again  at 
exactly  the  same  word  when  a  lull  in  the  storm  seemed  to 
offer  an  opportunity,  being  once  more  overpowered,  only 
to  start  afresh  when  an  opening  presented  itself.  The  con- 
test raged  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  but  in  the  end  Mr. 
Fawcett  triumphed,  and  continuing  at  the  word  he  had 
originally  returned  to,  proceeded,  'Which,  running  vio- 
lently down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea,  perished  in  the 
waters.'  "  * 

Mr.  Fawcett  is  declared  to  be,  "for  strength  of  charac- 
ter, political  integrity,  inflexibility  of  purpose,  and  power 
in  debate,"  the  "  rnodel  independent  member  of  the  House 

*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  pp.  141-5. 


1 6  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  Commons,"  yet,  it  is  acknowledged,  that  having  become 
a  power  there,  he  has  conducted  himself  with  *'  rare  mod- 
eration and  dignit}\"  In  1873,  he  compelled  the  Glad- 
stone Ministry,  after  some  ungracious  treatment,  to  accept 
as  their  own,  a  bill  he  had  introduced  relative  to  Irish 
University  Education.  His  moderate  course  in  that  mo- 
ment of  triumph  gave  him  a  marked  popularity  in  the 
House,  which  he  has  retained  and  enlarged. 

At  a  subsequent  debate  this  was  made  manifest  "  in  a 
remarkable  manner,"  when  the  Professor,  having  separated 
himself  from  those  who  supported  the  policy  of  which  Mr. 
George  Dixon,  Member  for  Birmingham  and  President  of 
the  "  National  Education  League,"  is  regarded  as  the  Parlia- 
mentary leader,  declared  for  the  Government  measure. 
Opinion  ran  high  for  and  against  the  bill,  and  Mr.  Forster's 
policy  was  especially  and  severely  condemned  by  the  Non- 
conformists' votes,  headed  by  Mr.  Miall,  who  declared  that 
the  Liberal  Ministry  had  "  brought  them  through  the  Val- 
ley of  Humiliation,"  and  who,  with  Mr.  Dixon  and  his  as- 
sociates, almost  regarded  Professor  Fawcett's  action  as  a 
betrayal  of  public  faith.  The  issue  involved  was  as  to  the 
continuance  of  support,  by  the  Government,  of  denomina- 
tional schools  —  the  radical  opposition  wanting  to  allow 
only  voluntary  religious  schools,  and  secular  instruction 
only  in  those  of  a  public  character. 

It  has  been  said  of  this  event  that  occasions  are  ]  are 
in  Parliamentary  history  when  a  crowded  House  has 
been  so  absolutely  swayed  by  the  eloquence  of  a  private 
member  as  it  was  on  the  night  when  Mr.  Fawcett  made 
clear  his  intentions  in  this  matter.  Mr.  Bright  has  fre- 
quently had  great  oratorical  triumphs,  speaking  from  the 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT.  17 

bench  behind  that  at  which  the  sightless  Professor  stood. 
But  the  applause  which  Mr.  Bright's  eloquence  was  accus 
tomed  to  call  forth  came  chiefly  from  one  side  of  the 
House,  whereas  Mr.  Fawcett  drew  alternately  and  at  wUl 
enthusiastic  cheers  alike  from  the  Conservative  as  from 
the  Liberal  ranks.  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  was  quite  ex- 
cited, leaning  forward  with  hands  clasped  over  his  knees, 
watching  the  words  as  they  fell  from  the  speaker's  lips, 
while  Mr.  Forster  lost  no  time  in  declaring  that  "  amid 
the  numerous  very  powerful  speeches  delivered  by  the 
hon.  member  for  Brighton,  this  assuredly  was  the  most 
moving."* 

Of  his  manner  of  speech,  a  critic,  not  so  partial  as 
Mr.  Conway,  says  that  the  Professor  "  suffers  much  as  a 
speaker  from  a  habit  of  pitching  his  magnificent  voice  at 
too  level  a  monotony  of  height  and  in  '  mouthing '  his 
words  when  he  desires  to  be  specially  emphatic.  His 
speeches,"  he  continues,  "are  rather  professorial  exercita- 
tions  than  statesman-like  orations."  It  is  added,  with  a 
dry  air  of  witty  patronage,  that  after  having  overcome  the 
Puritan  in  him,  that  "  there  are  no  bounds  to  the  possible 
heights  he  might  reach  in  the  state  if  his  acceptance  of 
office  were  conceivable." 

Mr.  Conway  believes  that  Professor  Fawcett's  "  mind 
has  the  instinct  of  leadership  ;  it  is  able  to  bring  out  every 
thought  in  a  circle  of  minds.  He  has  also  a  rare  humor, 
enriched  by  imagination,  and  has  a  large  repertoire  of  good 
stories  with  which  to  enliven  his  altogether  extraordinary 
conversation.     He  must  be  regarded,"  continued  his  ad- 

*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  p.  147. 
2 


1 8  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

miring  friend,  "  as  a  type  of  '  the  coming  Liberal '  as  dis 
tinguished  from  the  democrat  of  that  familiar  description 
which  approaches  demagogueism.  All  men  have  faith  in 
the  fundamental  honesty  of  the  masses.  The  most  rigid 
Tory,  walking  in  a  lonely  place  after  midnight,  may  fee] 
a  qualm  of  apprehension  if  he  discern  a  single  individual 
approaching  ;  but  if  there  are  a  dozen  he  will  feel  safe. 
He  knows  that  security,  so  far  as  good  intent  is  concerned, 
is  with  the  many.  That  feeling  is  the  basis  of  democracy." 
And  it  is  this  idea  and  feeling  that  Mr.  Fawcett  seeks  to 
embody  in  his  political  life.  In  some  respects,  says  Mr. 
Conway,  he  "  is  the  most  radical  man  in  Parliament,  yet 
no  man  is  less  servile  to  the  many,  none  more  normally  in 
the  minority." 

"  Henry  Fawcett  belongs  to  a  county  family  of  the 
Midland  Counties,  of  ancient  descent  and  high  character. 
Born  in  1835,  he  is  now  forty  years  of  age,  and  his  superb 
physique  promises  as  many  more  years  of  useful  life. 
Fortunately  the  accident  by  which  he  was  deprived  of 
sight,  did  not  occur  until  he  had  graduated  at  Cambridge, 
which  University  he  entered  as  a  scholar  of  Trinity  Hall. 
His  graduation,  with  the  highest  mathematical  honors,  oc- 
cured  in  1856.  He  then  studied  law  and  was  admitted  as 
a  bencher  of  the  Middle  Temple  in  1862.  But  blindness 
has  necessarily  prevented  him  from  pursuing  his  profes- 
sion. That  misfortune  was  the  result  of  an  accidental 
discharge  of  his  father's  gun,  soon  after  the  son's  gradua- 
tion, while  both  were  out  shooting.  Part  of  the  charge 
entered  the  young  man's  face,  putting  out  both  eyes,  but 
leaving  him  otherwise  imdisfigured."  Mr.  Conway  sa3''s  : 
"  The  father  who  had  looked  forward  to   a  distinguished 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT.  1 9 

career  for  his  son,  was  almost  inconsolable,  and  it  was 
for  a  time  feared  he  would  not  survive  the  event.  I  have 
heard  from  Professor  Fawcett's  intimate  friends  at  Cam- 
bridge touching  accounts  of  how  the  blind  boy  sat  beside 
the  father,  who  felt  the  affliction  more  keenly  than  himself, 
assuring  him  that  the  accident  should  make  no  difference 
whatever  in  the  career  to  which  they  both  had  looked  for- 
ward. '  The  accident,'  he  would  say,  '  did  not  happen 
until  I  had  received  at  the  University  the  basis  of  my  ed- 
ucation, and  fortunately  we  have  the  means  to  secure  aid 
from  the  eyes  of  others  for  practical  needs.  Rejoice  with 
me  that  my  health  is  unimpaired,  my  purpose  still  strong, 
and  my  spirit  as  cheerful  as  ever.'  He  has  lived  to  make 
good  the  hope  he  thus  held  out  to  his  father." 

Henry  Fawcett  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
Economic  Science,  and  to  literary  pursuits  in  connection 
therewith.  As  a  writer  on  these  topics,  he  ranks  with 
Thorold  Rogers,  and  for  ability  and  vigor  stands  but  a 
step  below  Prof.  Cairns,  As  a  teacher,  his  influence  is 
great  and  his  success  remarkable.  He  soon  became  a 
Fellow  of  his  College  and  then  Professor  of  Political 
Economy  in  the  University,  a  position  he  still  holds. 
The  Manual  of  Political  Economy  which  he  has  published 
has  become  the  standard  work  of  his  school.  Other  vol- 
umes on  the  Agricultural  Laborer  Question,  Pauperism, 
and  kindred  topics,  prove  his  thorough  mastery  of  the 
massive  materials,  which  go  to  make  up  what  Thomas 
Carlyle  has  designated  as  the  "dismal  science."  At 
Cambridge  the  Fawcetts  are  great  favorites,  and  the  Pro- 
fessor's rooms  are  crowded  when  the  duties  of  his  position 
and  the  adjournments  of  Parliament  bring  him  the  oppor- 


20  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

tunity  to  pursue   the  congenial  work  of  his  Professorship. 
His  lecture-room  is  always  crowded. 

Though  Professor  Fawcett  is  classed  among  the  "  irre- 
concilables,"  and  has  always  assumed  the  position  of  an 
"  Independent  Member,"  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  his 
Radicalism  is  necessarily  of  the  aggressive,  "  root  and 
branch  "  order,  or  has  in  it  any  of  the  iconoclast  spirit. 
It  is  based  on  moral  order  and  convictions  ;  does  not  seek 
to  pull  down,  but  conserving  the  good,  aims  to  re-create 
his  country  without  disorder  or  dangerous  excitement.  A 
disciple  of  the  strictest  school  of  Economists,  he  does  not 
support  all  the  measures  of  an  ameliorativ^e  character  which 
are  pressed  on  the  British  Parliament.  Mr.  Fawcett  has 
several  times  opposed  such  propositions, — the  most  no- 
table case  being  that  of  the  Factory  Health  Act  of  1874,  by 
which  the  hours  of  labor  for  women  and  children  were  still 
further  restricted.  On  this  subject  and  that  of  pauper- 
ism, Mr.  Fawcett  (whose  economic  views  on  population, 
etc.,  are  largely  tinged  with  Malthusian  ideas)  is  not  in 
accord  with  the  active  labor  agitators  and  their  friends,  in 
and  out.  of  Parliament.  Yet  his  frankness  and  honest}' 
have  saved  his  popularity  with  the  masses,  though  there  is 
a  bitter  hostility  to  the  cold  and  theoretical  way  in  which, 
it  is  charged,  he  has  dealt  with  this  question.  Mr.  Con- 
way, in  the  sketch  from  which  so  much  has  been  quoted, 
pithily  states  the  sentimental  side  of  the  economic  argu- 
ment which  the  member  for  Hackney  gave  inside  the 
House,  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Fawcett,  talked  outside.  "  It 
is  not  often,"  he  says,  "  that  one  has  to  charge  large 
masses  of  the  working  classes  with  a  deliberate  scheme  of 
injustice  or  oppression.     But  I  fear  that  under  the  terrible 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT.  21 

Struggle  for  existence  in  this  country,  the  Avorkingmen 
have  at  length  begun  to  show  signs  that  their  instincts 
have  become  impaired.  From  them  appears  to  have  pro- 
ceeded a  demand  for  a  measure  which,  under  the  pretence 
of  a  desire  to  protect  women  and  children  from  overwork 
by  restricting  the  hours  per  day  in  which  they  can  labor, 
can  only  result  in  rendering  women  unable  to  compete 
with  men  even  in  the  few  employments  now  open  to  them, 
and  so  crippling  that  sex  still  further  in  the  struggle  for  life. 
The  excess  in  the  numbers  of  women  over  men  in  Great 
Britain  is  nearing  a  million." 

It  is,  Mr.  Conway  writes,  speaking  in  review  of  Professor 
Fawcett's  position,  certain  that  the  pressure  in  the  market  for 
manual  labor  (women  being  denied  access  to  the  customary 
professions  and  many  lucrative  employments)  "has  induced 
the  workingmen  to  take  this  mean  way  of  handicapping  wo- 
men in  the  competition,  disabling  them  from  selling  their 
time  on  the  same  terms  as  man  sells  his." 

The  argument  of  Professor  Fav/cett  against  the  measure 
also  rested  on  another  ground  than  that  quoted  from  Mr. 
Conway's  sketch.  That  was  undoubtedly  the  argument  of 
his  brilliant  wife,  who  is  one  of  the  foremost  leaders  in  the 
women's  suffrage  agitation,  and  is  also  a  capable  Avriter  on 
Political  Economy.  In  the  House,  the  Member  for  Hack- 
ney urged  that  the  measure  would  largely  decrease  both 
production  and  wages. 

"  Manufacturers,"  he  said,  "  showed  an  increasing  ten- 
dency to  establish  concerns  on  the  continent,  where  they 
were  free  from  such  restrictions  as  were  imposed  in  this 
country.  In  Switzerland  and  Germany  legislative  restric- 
tions wore  confined  to  children,  and  our  working  men  could 


2  2  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

not  too  carefully  remember  that  capital  was  year  by  year 
emigrating  to  other  lands. 

"  The  Home  Secretary  had  based  this  legislation  on  the 
ground  that  women  were  not  free  agents.  If  the  women  of 
Yorkshire  were  not  free  agents,  how  could  it  be  said  that 
the  women  of  Dorsetshire  and  Cambridgeshire  were  so  .'' 
If  women  had  to  wade  up  to  their  middle  in  agricultural 
w'ork,  could  they  be  called  free  agents  ?  Let  this  kind  of 
legislation  be  carried  out  with  regard  to  factories,  and  the 
women  of  London  must  be  included  in  it,  and  Parliament 
must  decide  at  what  hour  domestic  servants  should  retire 
to  rest.  The  Home  Secretary  said  women  were  forced  to 
work  too  long  through  the  pressure  of  want,  or  of  their  em- 
ployers. If  they  accepted  the  first  alternative  it  resulted 
that  want  was  worse  than  work  ;  if  they  accepted  the  sec- 
ond the  conclusion  was  that  employers  were  tyrannical.  He 
ventured  to  say  that  this  legislation,  when  it  was  understood, 
would  be  hurled  back  with  contempt,  and  working  men 
would  tell  the  house  that  it  had  no  right  to  accuse  them  of 
forcing  their  wives  and  daughters  to  work  against  their 
will." 

The  Trades  Unions'  Organs  and  their  representatives  and 
friends  in  the  House  were  strongly  in  opposition  to  the  Pro- 
fessor. Mr.  Mundella,  a  large  employer  of  female  labor,  de- 
clared it  would  not  derange  production,  reduce  wages,  or 
lessen  profits,  while  it  v/as  essential  to  the  physical  and  moral 
well-being  of  the  population  to  protect  those  unable  to  pro- 
tect themselves.  Mr.  Joseph  Cowen,  member  for  Newcastle, 
Alderman  Carter,  member  for  Leeds,  Mr.  Samuel  Morley, 
who  sits  for  Bristol,  Messrs.  Stanhope,  Baxter,  Tennant  and 
other  large  employers  of  labor,  supported  the   bill.     Mr. 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT.  23 

Joseph  Chamberlain  recently  headed  a  deputation  to  the 
Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Cross,  on  this  subject  and  emphatically 
represented  the  same  views.  Of  course  the  members  who 
were  elected  as  the  representatives  of  working  men,  Messrs. 
Macdonald  and  Burt,  were  strong  in  opposition  to  the 
economic  view  urged  by  Mr.  Fawcett,  and  quite  bitter  in  re. 
plying  to  the  charges  of  selfish  motives  applied  to  their 
clients — the  Trades  Unions.  This  debate  indicates  an  im- 
portant fact  in  the  political  policy  and  purposes  by  and  for 
which  Mr.  Fawcett  is  governed  and  acts.  It  partially 
places  him  among  the  "administrative  Nihilists,"  as  Prof. 
Huxley  has  described  the  philosophy  of  which  Herbert 
Spencer  in  theoretical  polity,  and  "the  Manchester  School" 
in  practical  politics,  are  the  representatives. 

In  other  matters  Mr.  Fawcett's  position  is  in  the  van- 
guard. He  has  supported,  at  considerable  risk  of  popu- 
larity among  his  present  constituents,  the  opening  on  the 
Sabbath  of  the  public  museums,  picture  galleries,  &c., — a 
subject  greatly  agitated  in  England.  He  is  persistent  and 
consistent  in  advocating  the  redressing  of  political,  econo- 
mic and  educational  wrongs  that  bear  hard  on  the  agricul- 
tural population — tenant  farmers  and  laborers  alike.  His 
thorough  knowledge  of  law  and  history  comes  in  good 
stead,  when  bills  for  the  enclosure  of  commons,  or  other 
measures  of  land  monopoly  are  on  the  docket.  The  exten- 
sion of  the  suffrage  to  the  counties  meet  his  cordial  sup- 
port. This  measure,  a  compulsory  Tenant  Rights  act,  and 
one  providing  for  laborers'  allotments  and  holdings  in  the 
Crown  and  common  lands  of  Great  Britain,  are  propositions, 
with  one  for  better  educational  opportunities,  which  Pro- 
fessor Fawcett  fully  sustains,  and  which,  if  ever  carried  and 


24  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

put  into  practical  effect,  will  mark  a  wide  sweep  of  ameliora 
tive  and  constructive  radicalism.  In  a  speech  to  his  con- 
stituents at  Hackney,  Mr.  Fawcett  thus  pertinently  express- 
ed his  opinion  on  the  enfranchisment  of  the  laborer  : 

"  When  a  population  for  centuries  had  been  sunk  in  a  position  of 
dependence,  there  was  no  chance  of  improving  their  condition  unless 
one  could  inspire  in  them  the  sentiments  of  self-respect  and  self-reli- 
ance. In  order  to  do  this  it  was  necessary  to  make  them  see  that  they 
were  citizens  in  a  free  state,  not  serfs  of  the  soil,  nor  the  clients  of 
powerful  patrons." 

There  is  one  other  great  question  in  England,  in  which 
the  statesman-like  grasp  of  the  blind  member  must  be 
acknowledged.  His  position  on  the  disestablishment  and 
disendowment  of  the  Established  Church  illustrates  the 
many-sidedness  of  his  judgment.  In  his  speech  at  Hack- 
ney at  the  General  Election,  accepting  the  Liberal  nomina- 
tion, Mr.  Fawcett  gave  free  expression  to  the  general  course 
he  should  pursue  on  the  leading  issues  of  English  politics. 
Among  these,  of  course,  was  that  of  the  Church.  The 
Examiner^  the  literary  representative  of  radical  opinion  and 
criticism,  ^aid  that  Mr.  Fawcett  gave  utterance  to  some 
"peculiarly  wise  words"  on  this  question.  Summarizing 
and  quoting  his  language,  it  writes  : — 

"  Nothing  in  English  politics,  he  declared,  was, more  re- 
markable than  the  new  way  in  which  most  people  now 
look  at  the  connection  between  the  Church  and  the  State. 
'Twelve  months  ago.  Disestablishment  was  spoken  of  as 
the  distant  dream  of  a  few  enthusiastic  fanatics  ;  but  now 
even  moderate  politicians  speak  of  it  as  a  change  certain  to 
come,  and  the  only  question  is  by  whom  and  in  what  form 
it  should  be  done.'  To  all  men  who  see  how  the  currents 
of  the  age  are  running  it  has  long  been  clear  that  Disestab- 


PROFESSOR    FAWCETT.  25 

lishment  is  not  only  inevitable,  but  near.  Mr.  Fawcett 
anticipates  that  Mr.  Disraeli  will  do  unto  the  Church  as  he 
did  unto  the  Ten-pound  franchise.  We  are  happy  to  record 
the  prediction  that  the  Conservative  chief,  who,  above  all 
things,  wishes  to  be  considered  an  extraordinary  man,  will 
end  his  career  by  earning  the  epitaph — He  was  a  Tory  Min- 
ister, who  enfranchised  the  Democracy  and  disestablished 
the  Church." 

"  Mr.  Fawcett  fears,  indeed,  that  the  day  of  Disestablish- 
ment may  come  too  soon  ;  and  his  words  of  warning  on 
that  subject  were  by  far  the  most  important  part  of  his 
speech.  There  must,  of  course,  be  Disendowment  as  well 
as  Disestablishment,  and  the  appropriation  of  the  funds 
will  be  incomparably  the  more  important  process  of  the 
two.  Now,  Mr.  Fawcett  gives  clear  warning  that,  much  as 
he  would  like  to  see  the  Church  separated  from  the  State, 
he  would  not  vote  for  such  a  change  if  funds  were  to  be 
left  to  it  in  the  same  lavish  way  as  they  were  left  to  the 
Irish  Church." 

After  referring  to  the  extent  of  these  funds,  and  espe. 
cially  the  manner  in  which,  by  the  cessation  of  the  tithe  rent 
charge  the  ecclesiatical  revenues  will  all  fall  into  the  land- 
owner's hand,  the  Examiner  sdijs,  "  Some  members,  it  is  true, 
had  too  much  common  sense  to  let  so  preposterous  a  scheme 
of  spoliation  be  sanctioned  without  offering  an  emphatic 
protest ;  and  by  far  the  most  energetic  protest  came  from 
Mr.  Fawcett  himself." 

In  concluding  its  comments,  the   Examiner  says  : — The 

English  Church  is  immensely  richer  than  the  Irish  was  in 

what  were  called  'private  endowments,'  and  it  may  be  left 

in  possession  of  perhaps  ninety  millions   of  money,   if  the 

2 


26  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

disendowment  should  be  effected  in  accordance  with  the 
existing  precedent.  Now,  it  would  be  positive  madness  to 
arm  any  body  of  clergy  with  ninety  millions.  It  would  be 
hardly  less  insane  than  to  arm  garroters  with  Martini-Henry 
rifles  and  disband  the  police.  A  body  of  men  who  think 
that  they  are  priests,  that  tliey  can  work  invisible  miracles; 
that  they  are  armed  with  infallible  truth,  and  that  all  their 
foes  must  be  the  servants  of  the  devil,  may  be  nice  amia- 
ble gentlemen  so  long  they  are  held  down  by  the  impartial 
scepticism  of  the  State  ;  but  they  become  dangerous  indeed 
if  the  State  stuffs  their  pockets  with  money,  and  leaves 
them  free  to  do  what  they  like.  Hence  Mr.  Fawcett  does 
quite  right  to  warn  us  that  we  must  prepare  a  scheme  of 
Disendowment  very  different  from  that  which  was  applied 
to  the  Irish  Church.  The  work  will  be  so  difficult,  the 
l^rize  at  stake  is  so  vast,  and  the  day  for  action  may  be  so 
near,  that  the  Radical  party  cannot  too  soon  begin  to  pre- 
pare such  a  scheme  of  Disendowment  as  will  make  it  safe 
to  disestablish  the  Church." 

The  future  political  career  of  Professor  Henry  Fawcett 
is  well  indicated  by  the  road  he  has  so  far  travelled.  He 
will  be  found  radical  in  all  measures  that  look  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  masses,  while  at  the  same  time  he  will 
be  conservative  in  opposing  what  may  be  regarded  as  per- 
sonal politics.  Able,  wise  and  disinterested  as  he  is,  Great 
Britain  is  fortunate  in  the  presence  of  such  a  public  man. 

Professor  Fawcett  is  the  second  son  of  William  Fawcett, 
Esq.,  of  Longford,  Wiltshire,  and  of  Mary,  daughter  of 
William  Cooper,  Esq.,  of  Salisbury.  He  was  born  in  1833, 
and  married,  in  1867,  Millicent,  daughter  of  N.  Garrett, 
Esq.,  by  whom  he  has  several  children.  He  has  publishedj 
jointly  with  Mrs.  Fawcett,  a  volume  of  essays. 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Li.s  Aiiietes.  Cal. 


II. 


Sir  Charles  W.  Dilke. 


REAT  BRITAIN  received,  socially  and  politically 
speaking,  a  decided  sensation,  three  years  since. 
A  young,  wealthy,  cultivated  and  titled  gentleman, 
■ — one  whose  father  had  been  the  companion  of  princes, 
and  whose  name  is  linked  with  the  fairest  aspects 
of  later  English  history — rose  in  the  House  of  Commons 
and  delivered  a  carefully  prepared,  moderately-toned  speech, 
very  level  and  direct  in  its  argument,  and  aimed  at  the  ex- 
travagant cost  of  the  Royal  Establishment.  The  act  was  a 
daring  one,  and  it  raised  a  howl  of  anger  and  indignation. 
No  other  word  expresses  the  feeling  which  was  aroused 
among  that  portion  of  the  English  people  to  whom  the 
newspapers  chiefly  cater,  and  who  are  generally  meant, 
when  the  "British  Public "  is  referred  to  in  ponderous 
terms. 

What  made  this  passion  so  ungovernable,  was  the  fact 
that  the  radical  baronet,  seeing  the  antagonism  which  his 
motion  to  enquire  into  the  "  Civil  List "  expenditures  was 


28  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

sure  to  arouse,  had  stepped  from  St.  Stephen's  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  vox  popiili  in  advance.  The  motion  was 
entered  in  187 1;  the  speech  in  support  was  made  at  the 
session  of  1S72.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  gone  out  of  his  way, 
in  the  speech  annually  made  by  or  for  the  Prime  Minister, 
at  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet  in  London,  to  criticise  Sir 
Charles  W.  Dilke's  proposed  action.  The  latter  respond- 
ed by  canvassing  the  country.  A  radical  conference  was 
held  at  Birmingham,  at  which  Dilke,  Bradlaugh,  Taylor  and 
others  were  present.  Three  resolutions  or  declarations 
were  adopted:  ist,  Opposition  to  Hereditary  Legislators 
"and  to  a  second  chamber  :  2d,  That  the  people  are  the 
final  authority,  and  that  some  means  must  be  speedily  de- 
vised to  make  that  effective  :  3d,  Opposition  to  the  Bishops 
as  legislators.  Sir  Charles  Dilke  held  meetings  at  Bir- 
mingham, Bolton,  Bristol,  Sheffield,  Manchester,  Leeds, 
Newcastle,  and  other  large  cities.  At  nearly  all  of  them 
he  was  met  by  organized  mobs.  The  supporters  of  his 
views  and  the  authorities, — though  these  last  were  often 
lukewarm,  and,  in  a  few  instances,  openly  indifferent  to  the 
principle  of  Free  Speech — were  always  strong  enough  to 
protect  the  baronet.  At  a  meeting  held  December  7, 1871, 
at  Bolton,  while  Dilke  was  speaking,  a  concerted  and  mur- 
derous assault  was  made,  and  William  Schofield,  a  peace- 
ful working-man,  was  killed.  This  violence  defeated  its 
own  object  and  aroused  the  liberal  element  to  the  danger. 
An  American  unacquainted  with  English  affairs  would  be 
surprised  at  the  mildness  of  the  speeches  which  aroused 
such  bitterness.  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  speech  at  Newcastle, 
on  the  6th  of  November,  1871,  where  he  was  welcomed  by 
an  immense  meeting,  was  probably  the  boldest  of  all  his 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTII    DILKE.  29 

efforts.  Yet  no  more  aggressive  language  can  be  found  in 
it  tiian  is  contained  in  such  extracts  as  tliese.  Replying  to 
some  remark  of  Mr.  Disraeli,  about  the  power  of  the 
Crown,  the  sj^eaker  said  that  "  the  Queen's  political  con- 
science is  of  such  a  character  as  to  admit  of  her  fully  ap- 
proving of  everything  " — the  Prime  Minister  does.  His 
review  of  the  costly  anachronisms  in  the  Royal  House- 
hold, was  caustic  enough,  but  there  was  no  word  in  it  that 
transcended  even  the  limits  of  Parliamentary  debate.  He 
made  amusing  reference  to  the  fact  that  the  Royal  medical 
staff  consisted  of  thirty-two  persons ;  that  the  Queen's 
private  household,  numbered  twelve  persons,  as  Secretary, 
Librarian,  etc.  ;  that  the  Lord  Steward's  staff  embraced 
one  hundred  and  fifty-four  officials ;  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain's, four  hundred  and  thirty  ;  the  Master  of  Horse  twenty- 
six,  and  that  the  Household  Brigade,  consisting  of  Life 
Guards  (cavalry)  and  Grenadiers  (infantry)  were  maintained 
near  the  Royal  person,  as  a  privileged  corps,  at  a  great 
cost.  He  pointed  out  the  fact  that  the  Queen's  "  Pages 
of  Honor  "  are  the  only  persons  allowed  to  enter  the  army 
without  an  examination.  He  charged  that  privileged 
corps  were  demoralizing  and  unprofitable  in  armies  ;  alluded 
to  the  claim  that  had  been  made  relative  to  the  abolition  of 
certain  sinecures,  and  asked  if  the  cost  of  these  officers  had 
gone  to  swell  her  Majesty's  Privy  purse,  as  they  had  not 
been  deducted  from  the  annual  estimates.  What  seems  to 
have  most  thoroughly  angered  his  antagonists,  was  the  fact 
that  he  proclaimed  himself  a  republican,  though  only  re- 
motely so.  *■  At  Bristol,  November  20th,  1870,  he  said  :  "  I 
make  no  concealment  of  the  fact  that  I  am  a  republican 
myself."     Again  at  Newcastle,  he  said:  "There  is  a  wide- 


30  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

spread  belief  that  a  republic  here  is  only  a  matter  of  edu- 
cation and  time.  It  is  said  some  day  a  commonwealth 
will  be  our  government.  *  *  ■  *  Well,  if  you  can  show 
me  a  fair  chance  that  a  republic  here  will  be  free  from  the 
political  corruption  that  hangs  about  a  monarchy,  I  say 
for  my  part — and  I  believe  the  middle  classes  in  general, 
will  say — let  it  come  !  "  /  It  is  very  difficult  to  portray  the 
rage  which  such  expressions  created.  The  governing 
classes  seem  to  rest  in  fancied  security  when  such  men  as 
Bradlaugh  are  undermining  their  power,  but  a  Dilke  brought 
name,  culture,  and  wealth,  to  popularize  a  dangerous 
cause. 

The  London  Standard,  the  acknowledged  leader  and 
organ  of  ultra  Toryism,  gave  unreasoning  expression  to  its 
vehement  anger  at  such  audacity,  while  the  mild  and 
unreflecting  Spectator  could  find  no  defence  other  than 
an  apology  and  excuse  for  what  Sir  Charles  Dilke  criti- 
cised.    The  Standard  declared  that — 

"  The  respect  and  attachment  of  Englishmen  for  the 
Royal  Family,  and  their  contempt  and  aversion  for  libel- 
lers and  traitors,  will  not  be  silenced  by  the  ruffianism  of 
a  metropolitan  mob.  The  former  finds  utterance  in  every 
newspaper,  in  every  club  room,  in  every  home,  in  every  act 
and  movement  of  national  life  ;  the  latter  may  take  an  un- 
pleasantly practical  form  if  Sir  Charles  Dilke  should  ever 
insult  a  party  of  gentlemen  by  repeating  in  their  presence 
calumnies  such  as  he  was  permitted  to  utter  with  impunity 
before  the  roughs  of  Newcastle." 

The  Spectator  could  only  show,  while  mildly  reflecting 
on  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  that  in  1738,  the  Royal  Household 
numbered   one  hundred    and  ninety-seven  officials  more 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  3 1 

than  at  present,  saying — "We  are  strongly  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that — assuming  the  pageantry  of  a  court  to  be  still 
kept  up — a  judicious  weeding  out  of  superfluous  ofiicers 
would  be  practicable,  and  would  probably  bring  relief,  in 
many  ways,  to  the  Sovereign  herself.  But  there  is  one 
element  of  singular  unfairness  in  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  mode 
of  dealing  with  the  subject.  To  judge  from  his  speech 
one  would  think  that  the  Household  had  been  hitherto 
treated  as  a  sacrosanct  ark,  on  which  no  hand  had  ever 
been  laid.  It  would  be  easy  to  show  that  this  is  by  no 
means  the  case,  and  that  the  Sovereign's  House,  in  187 1, 
however  superfluously  ample  it  may  yet  appear  to  many,  is 
yet  of  far  scantier  dimensions  than  it  was,  say,  a  century 
and  a  half  ago."  But  the  radical  orator  had  the  facts  on 
his  side.  The  "  Civil  List  "  formerly  embraced  the  whole 
of  the  national  expenditure  other  than  those  for  military 
and  naval  purposes.  Prior  to  Cromwell's  day  it  did  not 
exist  at  all.  The  king  was  supposed  to  provide  for  all 
national  expenditure  out  of  his  land  and  hereditary  reve- 
nues, and  any  extra  war  expenditure  was  contributed  by 
the  various  feudal  lords,  under  the  conditions  of  their  sev- 
eral tenures.  Deficiencies  were  made  up,  sometimes  by 
forced  loans,  sometimes  by  parliamentary  grants,  which, 
however,  were  by  no  means  voted  as  a  matter  of  course. 
The  resistance  to  this  method  of  collecting  the  revenues 
needed,  led  to  the  Commonwealth.  The  subsequent  de- 
velopment of  Parliamentary  government  led,  after  the 
House  of  Brunswick  came  to  the  British  Throne,  to  the 
more  or  less  distinct  separation  of  the  Royal  Household 
expenditures,  from  those  which  properly  belong  to 
the   Government    of    the    Realm    itself.       In    the    con- 


32  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

tests  arising  over  the  development  of  this  separation, 
which,  like  English  affairs,  has  been  very  gradual  in- 
deed, the  Royal  Family  have  driven  close  bargains  with 
"  their  Faithful  Commons."  George  the  Second  received 
;^8oo,ooo  per  annum  in  all,  or  about  $4,000,000.  The 
"  Civil  Lists  "of  the  two  following  Georges,  especially  that 
of  George  the  Fourth,  were  swelled  by  all  sorts  of  devices, 
the  records  of  which  do  not  form  an  encouraging  chapter 
in  the  history  of  ministerial  responsibility,  and  parliamen- 
tary government.  The  annual  total  for  George  the  Fourth 
was  $5,000,000.  In  addition  to  this  he  received  as  Regent 
and -King,  gratuities  amounting  to  $16,000,000,  and  a  large 
sum  was  voted  to  cancel  his  debts.  Under  William  the 
Fourth  and  the  reigning  Queen,  the  Civil  List  was  nomi- 
nally reduced  to  ^385,000,  or  $1,925,000,  per  annum. 
Its  expenditures  are  directly  confined  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  Royal  Establishment. 

Sir  Charles  W.  Dilke  arraigned  the  current  estimates  as 
not  being  confined  even  to  this  large  sum.  He  showed,  with 
a  merciless  array  of  figures,  that  the  income  of  the  Duchy  of 
Lancaster,  ^42,000  net,  is  added  to  this  total,  making  the 
Crown  income  equal  to  $2,035,000.  Besides  this  large  sum, 
however,  the  nation  maintained  at  its  own  cost,  all  the 
Royal  residences,  Buckingham,  St.  James,  Hampton  and 
Kew  Palaces,  Windsor  Castle,  and  some  minor  places. 
Balmcral  and  Osborne  House,  in  Scotland  and  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  are  private  property.  The  Royal  family  are  also 
a  charge  on  the  Civil  List,  and  their  total  incomes  amount 
annually  to  ;^2i9,5i5,  or  about  $1,097,575.  This  sum 
swells  the  total  of  the  direct  Civil  List  to  $3,254,515, 
Other  sums  more  than  equal  in  amount  have  been  expend- 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  33 

ed  on  the  Heir-apparent  alone — to  pay  his  debts  and 
defray  the  expenses  of  his  various  State  tours.  The  cold 
and  careful  presentation  of  this  costly  show,  is  what 
aroused  the  anger  which  has  been  described.  Mr.  Smalley, 
the  very  capable  London  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Tribime,  under  date  of  December,  187 1,  says,  "In  the 
mere  fact  that  a  young  and  able,  and  liberal  M.  P.  has 
made  a  public  criticism  on  the  Royal  Household,  there  is 
nothing  to  explain  all  this  outcry.  No  single  politician  in 
a  single  speech  can  shake  the  Throne,  or  convert  popular 
loyalty  into  popular  discontent.  It  is  the  restless  senti- 
ment behind  the  orator  which  makes  him  formidable." 

The  excitement  in  and  out  of  Parliament,  which  at- 
tended and  followed  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  motion  of  inquiry 
into  the  "  Civil  List,"  is  a  vivid  illustration  of  one  of  the 
most  prevailing  superstitions  that  exists  as  to  public  affairs 
in  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Mundella  put  it  in  one  form  when 
he  recently  protested  against  a  "  pinchbeck  and  tinsel  " 
monarchy,  and  the  venturesome  baronet  aroused  its 
more  pugnacious  manifestations.  At  the  very  time  the 
Conservatives  were  inciting  mobs  to  break  up  the  meetings 
called  by  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  and  the  press  of  London 
were  indulging  in  more  or  less  violent  criticism  of  his 
position,  the  habitue's  of  the  clubs  and  of  West  End  social 
circles,  might  have  heard  daily  the  most  scandalous  stories 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  with  many  hints  of  a  nature  not 
complimentary  to  his  Royal  Mother.  It  was  about  this 
time,  that  Matt.  Morgan,  the  artist,  made  a  reputation  by 
cartoons  in  the  Tomahawk,  which  for  their  graphic  bold- 
ness have  hardly  been  surpassed.  The  Tomahawk  was  not 
a  Radical,  but  a  Conservative  satirist.  Yet  it  gave  to  the 
2*  3 


34  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

British  world,  without  exciting  rebuke  or  anything  more 
than  a  sarcastic  smile,  designs  Hke  the  one  which,  in  the 
attitude  of  the  Queen's  well-known  attendant,  John  Brown, 
designedly  lent  wings  to  the  contemptible  club  slanders 
that  were  then  circulated  ;  or  like  another,  far  more  power- 
ful and  expressive,  as  described  by  Justin  McCarthy,  in 
which  the  Prince  of  Wales,  dressed  as  Hamlet,  was  repre- 
sented as  breaking  away  from  the  restraining  arms  of 
John  Bull  as  Horatio,  and  public  opinion  as  Marcellus, 
and  rushing  after  a  ghost  which  bore  the  form  and  fea- 
tures of  George  IV.,  while  underneath  were  inscribed  the 
words,  "  Lead  on  ;  I'll  follow  thee  !  " 

Sir  Charles  Dilke's  mode  of  attack  excited  anger  be- 
cause it  was  practical.  It  reached  home  to  the  English 
pocket,  and  though  the  criticism  was  couched  in  the  most 
respectful  language,  it  laid  bare  only  the  more  effectually 
the  absurd  anomalies  for  the  maintenance  of  which 
Englishmen  were  taxed.  The  scene  that  occurred  in  the 
early  days  of  the  session  of  1872,  when  the  young  Baronet 
rose  to  speak  to  the  motion  he  had  given  notice  of  at  the 
session  of  187 1,  is  thus  described  by  the  author  of  "Men 
and  Manner  in  Parliament :"  —  "  The  scene  was  led  up 
to,  as  most  memorable  outbreaks  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons are,  in  the  most  unexpected  and  unpremeditated 
manner.  The  eager  throng  that  crowded  the  galleries  al- 
lotted to  the  public  looked  for  something  startling  when 
Sir  Charles  Dilke  should  rise  to  speak.  It  had  been 
rumored,  and  the  sequel  showed  that  the  statement  was 
not  without  foundation,  that  the  Conservatives  intended  to 
meet  the  motion  by  rising  en  masse,  and  leaving  Sir  Charles 
to  talk  to  such  Liberals  as  thought  the  subject  of  an  in- 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  35 

quiry  into  the  Civil  List  one  not  absolutely  forbidden   to 
the  representatives  of  the  people.     But  the  count-out  was 
a  card  held  for  playing,  if  necessary,  at  a  later  stage  of  the 
game,  and  after  Lord  Bury  had  succeeded  in  his  constant 
endeavour  of  putting  himself  en  evidence  on  every  possible 
occasion,  Sir    Charles   began   his   speech   to   a   crowded 
and  attentive   House,  which,  whilst  freezingly  deprecatory, 
remained  politely  attentive  till  the  hon.  Bart,  had  brought 
his  monologue  to  a  conclusion.      Mr.  Gladstone,    anxious 
to  make  an  end  of  the  matter,  followed  ;  and  it  was  taken  for 
granted  that  the  incident  was  closed,  and  the  strangers 
who  had  come  to  see  "a  scene"  remained  to  mutter  their 
disappointment.     Sir  Charles  Dilke  had  made  his  motion, 
the  Prime  Minister  had  replied,  both  sides  of  the  question 
were  before  the  public,  and  to  let  the  matter  rest,  was  the 
evident  wish  of  the  House.     But  it  was  not  to  be.  As  Mr. 
Gladstone  sat  down,   Mr.  Auberon   Herbert,  who,  it  was 
well  known,  desired   to   advocate    the   motion,  leaped   up 
from  his  seat  beside  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  and  found  him- 
self   face    to   face    with    such    a    storm    as    has    rarely 
beaten     against     the    roof    of    Saint     Stephen's.        The 
country    gentlemen,  famed   in  parliamentary    annals   for 
ability  to  assist  the  progress  of  legislation  by  the  utterance 
of  unearthly  noises,  excelled  their  historic  efforts   of   the 
eras  of  the  Reform  Bill  and  the  debates  on  the  Corn  Laws. 
They  roared  and  yelled  and  even  hissed,  lashing  themselves 
into  bivj  as  Mr.  Herbert  stood  shouting  out  something  at 
the  top  of  a  voice  that  was  utterly  lost  in  the  storm.     But 
even  country  gentlemen  cannot  bellow   "  Divide,  Divide  !  " 
for  more  than  five  minutes  at  a  stretch,  and  Mr.   Herbert, 
takins:  cognizance  of  this  fact,  husbanded  his  resources  ac- 


36  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

cordingly ;  and  when  something,  which  might  by  compari- 
son be  termed  a  lull,  occurred,  he  looked  up  to  the  press 
gallery,  and,  by  a  superhuman  effort  shouted  out  two  or 
three  words  that  seemed  to  reach  the  reporters.  Then  the 
Conservatives  brought  up  their  reserve  forces  and  a  sus- 
tained yell  drowned  the  speaker's  voice.  A  few  minutes  more 
and  the  hon.  member,  perceiving  signs  of  renewed  exhaus- 
tion in  the  Opposition  benches,  continued  his  speech  at  the 
very  words  at  which  he  had  left  off;  whereupon  the  Con- 
servatives came  back  with  a  deafening  roar,  and  Mr.  Her- 
bert resigned  the  innings  to  them.  But  it  became  clear 
that  he  was  winning  the  game  by  strategy.  No  human 
lungs  were  equal  to  the  prolongation  over  an  hour  of  such 
an  effort  as  the  country  gentlemen  were  then  making,  and 
whilst  even  in  the  full  tide  of  their  vigor,  Mr.  Herbert  was 
getting  out  his  speech  by  piecemeal,  it  was  too  evident  that 
when  they  had  shouted  themselves  hoarse  he  would  come 
up  smiling  and  say  all  the  horrible  things  he  had  at  heart. 
Accordingly  a  change  of  tactics  was  decided  upon,  and  the 
count-out  card  was  dealt.  But  it  requires  two  to  play  at 
the  game,  and  as  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  colleagues  would 
not  lend  themselves  to  the  effort  to  stop  free  discussion  by 
these  means,  the  count-out,  thrice  essayed,  thrice  failed, 
Mr.  Herbert,  profiting  by  these  brief  pauses  to  gain  fresh 
breath  and  renewed  vigor.  Thoroughly  beaten,  the  Con- 
servatives finally  resorted  to  the  expedient  of  clearing  the 
House  of  strangers,  with  the  intention  of  preventing  Mr. 
Herbert's  interjections  from  being  reported.  But  this  pro- 
ceeding did  not  in  the  slightest  degree  affect  the  hon. 
member's  purpose,  and  amid  a  babel  of  sounds,  through 
which  the  shrill  crowing  of  the  cock  could  alone  be  distin- 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTII    DILKE.  37 

guished,  he  continued  his  speech  for  ten  minutes  more, 
when  apjDarently  reaching  the  end,  he  sat  down  and  the 
ferment  subsided  as  quickly  as  it  had  arisen." 

As  a  speaker.  Sir  Charles  does  not  appear  to  have  cap- 
tivated the  critics  of  the  press  gallery.  The  writer  in  Fra^ 
scr,  who  discourses  pleasantly  on  the  House  of  Commons 
'"'■lis personnel,  and  its  oratory,"  says  that  in  "Sir  Charles 
Dilke,  the  visitor  to  the  House  of  Commons  will  see  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Disraeli's  periods  and  phrases,"  *  *  "  he 
contents  himself  with  copying  the  more  bizarre  of  Mr.  Dis- 
raeli's alliterations,  as  when  he  told  the  House — as  he  told 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters  at  Hammersmith  last  month 
— that  the  publicans  were  perplexed,  the  parsons  persecu- 
ted, and  the  Dissenters  disgusted." 

A  more  soberly  stated,  if  slightly  satirical,  view  of  his 
parliamentary  appearance  and  manner,  is  given  in  the  fol- 
lowing: 

»  "Sir  Charles  Dilke  does  not  owe  any  of  the  Parliamen- 
tary fame  he  may  possess  to  the  manifestation  of  gifts 
of  oratory.  The  hon.  Baronet  is,  to  tell  the  truth,  a  very 
wearisome  speaker,  and  if  he  had  not,  as  a  rule,  some- 
thing to  say  that  was  worth  listening  to,  he  would  never 
find  an  audience.  If  in  any  future  edition  of  Mr.  Robert 
Montgomery's  poems  a  metaphorical  illustration  were 
required  for  the  famous  stream  that 

'  Meandered  level  with  its  fount,' 

the  publisher  could  not  do  better  that  procure  a  carie-de- 
visite  portrait  of  the  hon.  member  for  Chelsea  as  he  appears 
when  addressing  the  House  of  Commons.  Sir  Charles 
usually  sits  on  the  second  or  third  seat  on  the  front  bench 


38  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

below  the  gangway,  but  when  he  rises  to  make  a  set  speech 
he  invariably  stands  partly  in  the  gangway  itself  with  his 
back  turned  to  his  personal  friends.  The  note  upon  which 
he  begins  his  oration  is  marvellously  preserved  throughout 
its  full  length,  and  as  he  monotonously  turns  his  body  from 
left  to  right,  as  if  he  were  fixed  on  a  pivot,  the  impression 
he  leaves  on  the  mind  of  the  beholder  is  that  the  reservoir 
of  his  speech  is  ingeniously  located  in  his  boots,  and  that 
he  is  pumping  it  up.  For  an  hour  at  a  time  the  level 
stream,  unrelieved  by  a  single  coruscation  of  wit,  imagina- 
tion, fancy,  or  humor,  flows  out  upon  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. But  the  House,  nevertheless,  attentively  listens,  as 
far  as  human  endurance  can  withstand  the  more  than  mor- 
tal monotony,  for  Sir  Charles  Dilke  generally  has  some- 
thing notable  to  say,  and  he  has  a  fearless  way  of  saying 
it  which,  to  those  who  have  souls  r-  -lable  of  being  stirred 
by  the  fire  of  political  Knight-en aiury,  covers  a  multitude 
of  sins  of  manner."  *•■ 

Sir  Charles  Wentworth  Dilke,  the  second  baronet  of  his 
name,  is  the  son  of  a  well  known  public  man,  and  the 
grandson  of  a  literary  critic  of  large  reputation.  The  pres- 
ent baronet,  like  his  father  and  grandfather,  is  the  active 
editor  of  the  AthenmiJ7t.  His  only  brother,  Austin  Dilke, 
is  now  the  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  London  Weekly 
Dispatch,  a  paper  which  he  has  restored  to  more  than  its 
original  popularity  and  circulation.  Thirty  years  ago  the 
Dispatch  was  the  most  influential  journal  in  Great  Britain. 
W.  J.  Fox,  the  member  for  Oldham,  and  pastor  of  the  fa- 
mous South  Place  (Finsbury)  Chapel,  contributed  regular- 


*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament' 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  39 

ly  over  the  signature  of  "  Publicola  ;  "  other  well  known  wri- 
ters also  contributed  to  its  columns.  It  then  passed  under 
a  cloud.  Its  former  editor,  Sydney  Smith,  a  London  bar- 
ister,  was  identified  with  the  opposition  to  Trades  Unionism, 
and  became  the  leading  critic  thereof.  This  destroyed  the 
popularity  of  the  Dispatch,  which  Mr.  Austin  Dilke  is  said 
to  have  raised  to  a  remarkable  circulation.  He  is  the  au- 
thor of  a  brilliant  book  on  Russia,  now  being  published,  and 
is  considered  by  all  odds  the  best  informed  living  English- 
man on  Russian  affairs.  He  speaks  the  language  fluently. 
His  brother  in  the  witty  brochure  "  Prince  Florestan,"  which 
he  issued  anonymously  in  1874,  describes  him  as — "  Mr. 
Dilke  of  Trinity  Hall,  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  brother — but  a 
man  of  more  real  talent  than  his  brother,  although,  if  pos- 
sible, a  more  lugubrious  speaker." 

Charles  Wentworth  Dilke,  the  grandfather,  was  born  in 
1 7S9,  of  a  county  family  in  moderate  circumstances.  He 
graduated  at  Cambridge,  and  receiving  an  appointment  in 
the  Naval  Pay  office,  remained  there  for  twenty  years. 
During  this  time  he  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  Wcst- 
viinster  and  Retrospective  Review,  as  also  to  "  Notes  and 
Queries,^''  In  1830  he  became  editor  of  the  AthencBum. 
In  1846,  he  transfered  its  editorship  to  Thomas  Keble 
Hervey,  in  order  to  take  charge  of  the  Daily  News,  which 
ha  retired  from  in  1849.  His  son  was  born  in  1810.  He 
became  editorially  connected  with  the  Athenceum  soon 
after  leaving  the  University.  He  married  Mar}',  daughter 
of  Captain  William  Chatfield,  and  their  eldest  son,  the  pres- 
ent member  for  Chelsea,  was  born  in  London  in  1843.  He 
is  therefore  in  the  thirtj-secondyear  of  his  life.  The  father 
was  among  the  earliest  promoters  of  that  movement  for 


40  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

artistic  and  technical  education  which  has  ah'eady  borne 
such  remarkable  fruits  in  Great  Britain.  In  1844  he  urged 
upon  the  Society  of  Arts,  of  which  he  was  Vice-President,— in 
connection  with  the  late  Mr.  Cole,  of  the  Kensington 
Museum,  and  Scott  Russell,  the  engineer,— a  plan  for  the  Ex- 
hibition of  the  Useful  Arts  and  Industries.  This  was  the  first 
outline  presented  of  the  plan  on  which  the  London  Universal 
Exhibition  of  185 1  was  subsequently  based.  In  1846,  with 
the  encouragement  given  by  Prince  Albert,  the  Society  of 
Arts  gave  its  first  exhibition.  Mr.  Dilke  was  one  of  the 
active  Commissioners  at  that,  the  first,  Exhibition.  He  also 
visited  New  York  as  English  Commissioner  to  the  Ameri- 
can Exposition,  and  served  on  that  held  in  England  in  1862. 
He  several  times  declined  Knighthood,  but  was  created  a 
baronet  after  the  last  named  service.  He  died  in  1869, 
after  his  son  had  entered  Parliament. 

The  latter  received  his  early  education  under  a  private 
tutor,  and  entered  at  Trinity  Hall,  Cambridge,  in  1862, 
graduating  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.,  in  1866.  He  sailed 
almost  immediately  thereafter  for  the  United  States,  on 
the  interesting  "  round  the  world  "  journey,  which  added 
his  attractive  volumes,  "  Greater  Britain,"  to  the  literature  of 
the  times.  The  theory,  or  purpose  of  the  journey  the  book 
narrates,  is  in  itself  a  very  attractive  one,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  began  was  quite  original.  Mr.  Dilke  illustrates 
the  growth  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  stock  by  the  spirited  ac- 
count he  gives  of  the  great  communities  it  has  founded. 
He  landed  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  soon  after  the  close  of  our 
civil  war,  and  proceeded  through  the  South,  judging  Avisely 
that  he  would  thus  obtain  a  better  idea  of  the  real  condi 
tion  of  affairs  in  the  States  over  which  war  had  swept  likt 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  4 1 

a  fierce  wind.  The  chapters  in  which  the  South  is  de- 
scribed, constitute  one  of  the  fairest  and  clearest  state- 
ments yet  given  of  its  permanent  characteristics  and  of  the 
conditions  then  existing.  His  general  sympathy  with  the 
national  cause  is  not  disguised,  but  it  does  not  color  his 
Judgment  of  existing  facts.  He  came  from  the  South  by 
the  Mississippi  River,  and  made  his  way  into  the  Northern 
States  via  St.  Louis.  His  judgment  is  fair  and  keen,  his 
descriptions  are  generally  accurate,  his  insight  is  good  and 
his  style  graphic  and  lively".  One  of  the  best  proofs  of  this 
is  to  be  found  in  his  reference  to  the  American  plan  of  pro- 
tection. Unlike  most  English  observers  and  writers,  his 
mind  has  a  continental  outlook,  and  he  does  not  merely 
seek  to  use  his  observations  as  a  string  on  which  to  hang 
opinions  preconceived  and  settled.  He  evidently  seeks  to 
find  out  why  the  American  people  have,  as  a  rule,  so  largely 
favored  a  protective  policy.  The  reasons  which  he  finds 
given  he  also  finds  to  prevail  in  the  great  English  Colonies, 
both  in  America  and  on  the  Australian  Continent.  He  speaks 
of  it  in  these  words: — "It  is  a  common  doctrine  in  the 
Colonies  of  England  that  a  Nation  cannot  be  called  inde- 
pendent, if  it  has  to  ciy  out  to  another  for  supplies  of  ne- 
cessities ;  that  true  national  existence  is  first  attained  when 
the  country  becomes  capable  of  supplying  to  its  own  citi- 
zens those  goods  without  which  they  cannot  exist  in  the 
state  of  comfort  they  have  already  reached." 

Mr.  Dilke  conveys  the  idea  that  the  future  holds  both 
the  possibility  and  probability  of  a  federation  of  the  En- 
glish-speaking communities,  which  now  belt  the  world  with 
two  hundred  millions  of  population.  He  indicates  quite 
clearly  that   the  American  Republic  must  be  the  organiz- 


42  BRIEF   BIOGRAPHIES. 

ing  centre  of  such  a  movement,  and  that  the  federal  plan  on 
which  it  is  constructed  must  be,  with  modifications,  that  of 
the  union  of  Englisli-speaking  communities,wliich,it  is  argued 
must  yet  be  framed  in  the  interest  of  civilization.  At  the 
time  of  Mr.  Dilke's  journey  there  was  a  good  deal  of  specu- 
lation on  such  themes.  The  immense  growth  of  the  Anglo- 
American  offshoots,  as  well  as  the  rapidly  rising  importance 
of  the  Anglo-Indian  and  Australian  Colonies  and  depen- 
dencies, make  a  problem  of  importance  of  the  ques- 
tion : — What  are  to  be  the  future  relations  of  the  Mother- 
country  to  these  children  of  hers  ?  Alfred  H.  Louis, 
formerly  editor  of  the  London  Spectator,  and  now  a  resident 
of  Boston,  has  long  advocated  the  idea  of  an  Anglo-Saxon 
federation,  belting  the  world  with  its  international  comrade- 
ship. Our  brilliant  young  publicist  had  doubtless  been 
influenced  by  the  largeness  of  the  idea,  as  he  has  also,  it 
is  evident,  by  the  comprehensive  criticisms  which  have  been 
made  from  the  "Positivist"  standpoint,  on  the  Asiatic 
policy  of  Great  Britain.  The  observations  of  the  baronet, 
as  expressed  in  "  Greater  Britain,"  and  more  recently  mani- 
fested by  his  motions  and  questions  in  Parliament,  show 
that  he  has  carefully  studied  the  average  Anglo-Chinese 
and  Indo-Imperial  view  of  affairs,  coming  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  have  heretofore  "  been  weighed  in  the  balance, 
and  found  wanting." 

The  good  feeling  for,  and  admiration  of,  the  United 
States,  which  Sir  Charles  Dilke  expresses  in  his  book,  has 
found  expression  in  more  than  one  instance  on  the  floor  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  At  the  opening  of  the  session  of 
1870,  the  member  for  Chelsea  was  selected  to  second  the 
address  in  response  to  the  Queen's  SiDcech.  This  is  a  duty 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  43 

usually  devolving  on  some  younger  member  of  the  party  in 
power,  this  representative  being  selected  by  the  Ministry. 
The  choice  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke  was  regarded  as  significant 
of  both  a  radical  policy  and  a  conciliatory  manner  towards 
the  radicals,  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Gladstone.  During  Sir 
Charles'  speech  he  made  the  following  kindly  and  graceful 
reference  to  the  United  States  :  "  With  one  foreign  power, 
if  the  word  'foreign'  be  strictly  applicable  to  a  people 
whose  tongue  and  whose  thought  are  ours,  relations  are 
returning  to  something  better  than  their  former  state. 
Time  and  the  sympathies  of  race  are  too  strong  for  politi- 
cians and  for  governments.  As  the  days  roll  by,  bitter  words 
are  forgotten,  and  men  begin  to  wonder  where  the  angry 
feelings  of  the  past  can  have  had  their  rise,  when  they  note 
the  calmness  of  the  reasoning  with  which  former  subjects 
of  dispute  are  now  approached  on  either  side  of  the  great 
seas.  We  are  told  in  the  Speech  that  we  are  soon  to  deal 
with  the  Naturalization  matter.  No  declaration  could 
give  more  pleasure  to  the  millions  of  persons,  now  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  who  were  born  on  British  soil,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  settlement  that  has  been 
reached  conflicts  with  no  sentiment  of  English  dignity,  and 
with  no  principle  of  modern  English  law,  but  that  it  will 
prove  even  more  satisfactory  to  the  Americans  than  the  ar- 
rangements they  have  made  with  the  Prussians."* 

Sir  Charles  Dilke's  parliamentary  record  shows  him  to 
be  both  an  industrious  and  practical  member.  Though  his 
ultra  views  have  rendered  him  somewhat  unpopular  as  a 
politician  in  the  House  itself,  his  acknowledged  freedom 

*  "  Hansard's  Debates,"  Feb.  S,  1S70. 


44  BRIEF      BIOGRAPHIES. 

from  affectation  of  superior  knowledge  ;  his  readiness  for 
hard  work ;  his  fund  of  extensive  and  accLrate  informa- 
tion ;  and  the  genuine  manliness  and  courage  with  which 
he  has  met  the  opposition,  have  secured  him  personal  re- 
spect and  close  attention.  A  wider  experience  and  recent 
sorrow  have  naturally  given  tone  and  depth  to  the  charac- 
ter of  one  who  has  assuredly  won  a  right  to  be  esteemed 
as  among  the  foremost  of  the  younger  generation  of  English 
public  men.  He  has,  more  recently,  too,  shown  his  pos- 
session of  a  humor  for  which  he  had  not  received  credit, 
turning  the  tables  on  his  critics  by  good-naturedly  and 
pointedly  holding  up  a  mirror  to  himself  in  "  Prince  Flores- 
tan."  Dod's  "  manual  records  Sir  Charles  Dilke  as  "  A 
Radical  ;  in  favor  of  further  distribution  of  seats  and  the 
assimilation  of  county  franchise  to  that  of  the  boroughs, 
the  abolition  of  the  income  tax  and  sugar  duties.'"^  There 
is  nothing  in  this  of  the  "Red  Spectre,"  with  which  at  one 
time  many  English  people  associated  the  name  of  Dilke. 

He  was  re-elected  in  1874,  at  the  head  of  the  poll,  in 
spite  of  tiie  fact  that  many  of  his  votes  had  run  counter  to 
the  prejudices,  and  perhaps  to  the  interests,of  a  large  num- 
ber of  his  constituents.  Chelsea,  like  Lambeth  and  Hack- 
ney, is  a  borough  largely  made  up  of  the  trading  or  shop- 
keeping  class.  On  economic  questions  the  baronet  gen- 
erally finds  himself  in  accord  with  Professor  Fawcett,  while 
on  education,  he  follows,  as  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Birmingham  League,  the  lead  of  Mr. 
George  Dixon,  He  is  a  warm  advocate  of  a  compulsory 
system,  under  the  direction  of  the  State  itself.  Opposed 
of  course  to  denominational  control,  he  does  not  concen- 
trate himself  on  that  point  or  the  demand  for  secular  direc- 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  45 

tioii,  so  much  as  lie  does  on  that  of  compulsion.  He  brings 
to  this  discussion,  as  his  speeches  show,  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  condition  of  education  in  various  coun- 
tries, and  this  trait  is  equally  characteristic  of  his  mind  in 
other  matters.  Sir  Charles  Dilke  has  strenuously  advo- 
cated the  extension  of  suffrage  to  women,  especially  urg- 
ing the  rights  of  the  unmarried,  who  are  also  the  pos- 
sessors of  property,  as  a  logical  application  of  the  idea  on 
which  the  franchise  rests  to  a  larger  extent  than  on  any- 
thing else  in  Great  Britain. ''Addressing  the  House,  May  8lh, 
1870,  he  said  : — "  If  you  make  property  the  absolute  test, 
without  exception  or  disqualification  of  any  kind,  you  have 
for  the  first  time  an  intelligent  basis  on  which  you  may 
rest  your  suffrage,  and  upon  which  you  can  withstand  the 
demand  for  universal  suffrage."  He  did  not  indorse  the 
limitation  as  equitable  or  wise  ;  he  only  argued  its  logical 
character  as  relating  itself  to  the  measure  then  pending— 
a  bill  according  the  vote  to  unmarried  women  who  were 
freeholders  and  ratepayers  in  their  own  right. '' 

The  measures  on  which  Sir  Charles  Dilke  ha*^  widely 
rested  his  usefulness  in  the  House,  since  the  outburst 
against  him  over  the  Civil  List  inquiiy,  relate  chiefly  to  the 
Franchise,  and  the  more  equitable  adjustment  of  population 
and  representation.  He  voted  with  Mr.  Trevelyan  for  the 
extension  to  counties  of  the  Borough  Franchise,  thus  aid- 
ing the  Agricultural  Laborers'  movement,  but  his  own 
measure  for  re-distribution  of  seats  necessarily  underlies 
any  real  readjustment.  The  bill  was  introduced  into  the 
last  Parliament,  and  received  the  support  of  but  a  com- 
paratively small  portion  of  the  Liberal  vote, — the  Prime 
Minieter  himself  opposing.     At  the  last  division,  in  the 


46  BRIEF      BIOGRAPHIES. 

session  of  1S75,  Mr.  Gladstone  voted  for  it,  with  a  greater 
portion  of  those  who  were  in  his  Ministry.  The  motion  to 
proceed  to  a  second  reading  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  190 
to  120,  a  majority  of  30.  This  is  regarded  as  a  great  gain. 
The  consideration,  too,  with  which  the  Times  especially,  as 
well  as  all  the  London  papers,  treated  its  advocate,  shows 
the  great  gain  Sir  Charles  Dilke  has  made  within  the  past 
three  years. 

In  his  last  speech  he  advocated  the  equality  of  fran- 
chise through  the  re-distribution  of  seats,  nearly,  though  not 
entirely,  on  the  basis  of  population  ;  and  he  also  urged  the 
representation  of  minorities.  As  to  inequality  of  the  fran- 
chise he  showed  that  members  were  seated  at  the  last  gen- 
eral election  who  had  not  one-twentieth  or  even  one-sixtieth 
the  number  of  votes  required  to  elect  elsewhere  some  other 
member.  Thus  some  voters  are  favored  unduly.  A  Parlia- 
mentaiT  document  printed  on  motion  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke, 
shows  that  the  constituencies  in  England  and  Wales  num- 
ber 2.301,206,  of  whom  840,360  are  electors  in  counties, 
1,448,779  in  boroughs,  and  12,067  in  universities.  In 
Ireland,  the  Parliamentary  electors  number  230,436 — 
175,414  in  counties,  and  55,022  in  boroughs.  In  Scotland, 
there  are  289,789  electors,  of  whom  84,752  are  in  counties, 
195,176  in  burghs,  and  9,861  in  universities.  This  makes 
a  total  for  the  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  of  3,021,431 
electors.  The  total  number  of  inhabitants  is,  in  Great  Brit- 
ain alone,  31,457,331,  the  number  of  electors,  2,680,680; 
the  number  of  unrepresented  adult  persons  is  stated  at 
14,388,335.  The  Electoral  Reform  Association,  a  body 
formed  to  support  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  efforts,  offer  in  a 
striking  petition,  which  the  senior  member  for  Chelsea  pre- 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  47 

sented,  the  facts  whereon  the  new  demand  is  based.  They 
say: 

"  That  the  borough  and  county  constituencies  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  with  less  than  100,000  inhabitants  each,  had  a  total 
jiopulation  in  1871  of  10,346,667  and  are  represented  in  the 
House  of  Commons  by  402  members  ;  while  the  constituencies 
with  more  than*ioo,ooo  inhabitants  had  a  total  population  of 
21,113,655,  and  are  represented  by  only  241  members.  The 
constituencies  which,  as  regards  population,  are  in  a  minority  of 
10,766,988,  have  a  majority  of  161  representatives  in  the  House 
of  Commons. 

"  That  the  number  of  electors  upon  the  register  now  in  force, 
in  boroughs  which  in  1871  had  a  population  of  less  than  1 0,000, 
is  67,257,  returning  77  representatives,  while  the  number  of 
electors  in  the  boroughs  which  in  1871  had  above  100,000  in- 
habitants is  910,073.  returning  68  representatives.  The  former 
class  of  constituencies  have  one  member  for  every  873  electors, 
while  the  latter  have  only  one  member  for  every  13,383  ;  the 
electors  of  the  small  boroughs  have  fifteen  times  the  weight  in 
Parliament  of  the  large  cities  and  towns. 

*****  * 

There  are  45  of  these  boroughs  ;  in  1871  they  had  an  aggregate 
population  of  497,962  and  68,281  electors,  returning  52  members. 

"  That  the  evils  of  the  existing  distribution  of  seats  become 
daily  more  aggravated  with  the  increase  of  population  in  the 
large  towns.  The  electors  in  the  boroughs  with  less  than 
10,000  population  were  64,092  in  1871,  and  are  67,257  on  the 
present  register,  showing  an  increase  of  only  3,165,  while  in  the 
boroughs  with  more  than  100,000  population,  the  electors  were 
776,755  in  1871  and  are  now  910,073,  an  increase  of  133,318,  or 
within  1,196  of  double  the  whole  amount  of  electors  in  the  small 
boroughs. 

"  That  the  returns  of  the  last  census  show  that  the  town 
population  of  England  and  Wales  in  1871   was  12,900,297,  and 


48  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

the  rural  population  9,803.811,  the  former  occupying  3,287,151 
and  the  latter  34,037,732  acres  of  land;  while  the  population  ol 
the  Parliamentary  boroughs  was  only  10,652,423,  showing  a  town 
population  of  2,247,874  which  is  deprived  of  borough  representa- 
tion. 

"  That  the  population  of  London  within  the  limits  of  the 
Metropolis  Local  Management  Act  was  3,266,987,  in  1871, 
while  the  population  of  its  Parliamentary  boroughs  was  only 
3,022,066,  showing  that,  within  its  limits,  a  town  population  of 
244,921  has  no  distinctive  representation  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  although  as  fully  qualified,  in  every  respect,  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  small  constituencies  which  have  now  a  pre- 
ponderating influence  in  ParHament. 

•'  That  the  metropolitan  boroughs  with  their  population  of 
3,022,066  have  only  22  representatives,  while  the  counties  of 
Buckingham  and  Wiltshire,  with  an  aggregate  population  of 
433,056,  have  23.  The  metropolis  has  13  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation of  England  and  Wales,  but  only  4^  per  cent,  of  the  rep- 
resentation. Its  claims  to  a  fair  share  of  political  power  are 
ignored  in  favor  of  small  boroughs  whose  main  qualification  ap- 
pears to  consist  in  the  fact  that  they  are  the  means  whereby 
the  "  landed  interest "  maintains  its  predominance  in  the  House 
of  Commons. 

"That  the  existing  distribution  of  political  power  fails  to  se- 
cure a  fair  representation  of  the  electoral  body,  a  fact  which  is 
evidenced  by  the  returns  for  the  contested  constituencies  of  the 
county  of  Lancaster.  The  number  of  members  returned  by  those 
constituencies  at  the  last  general  election  was  22  Conservative, 
and  6  Liberal ;  whereas  the  strength  of  the  two  parties,  taking 
the  highest  polls  on  each  side  as  the  test,  was  105,441  Conserv- 
ative, and  95,345  Liberal  votes.  Under  an  equitable  arrange- 
ment of  representation  the  numbers  returned  would  have  been 
Conservative,  15  ;  Liberal,  13. 

"  That  the  number  of  English  county  constituencies  in  w'.ich 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE,  49 

political  life  is  becoming  extinct,  and  large  classes  of  electors 
are  being  deprived  of  any  opportunity  of  recording  their  con- 
victions at  the  polling  booth,  is  a  serious  evil,  which  demands 
the  early  consideration  of  Parliament,  as  it  is  very  undesirable 
that  large  constituencies  should  exist  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
registering  the  edicts  of  a  small  but  dominant  fraction  of  the 
population.  In  186S  there  were  no  contests  in  thirty-eight,  and 
in  1874  none  in  fifty-four,  county  constituencies. 

"That  the  limitation  of  voting  power  in  constituencies  return- 
ing more  than  two  members,  introduced  by  the  Reform  Act  of 
1867,  is  a  very  unsatisfactory  attempt  to  provide  for  the  repre- 
sentation of  minorities ;  that  it  is  partially  and  unjustly  applied, 
the  constituencies  selected  having  been  the  largest  in  boroughs 
and  the  smallest  in  counties  ;  that  it  is  an  aggravation  of  the 
existing  inequality  of  representation,  and  tends  to  perpetuate  a 
system  under  which  the  minority  of  electors  have  a  large  pre- 
ponderance of  representation. 

"  That  the  true  problem  to  be  solved  in  connection  with  this 
question  is  that  of  securing  the  effective  and  proportionate 
representation  of  the  whole  community,  so  that  both  the  aggre- 
gate majority  and  minority  in  the  constituencies  shall  each  have 
a  representation  proportionate  to  their  numerical  strength,  and 
that  individual  electors  may  have  the  widest  possible  area  of 
choice." 

The  petititioners  asked  for  a  Royal  Commission  of  In- 
quiry. Among  the  best  points  made  by  Sir  Charles 
Dilke,  in  a  speech  conceded  to  be  unusually  effective  from 
its  moderate  tone  and  ample  acquaintance  with  the  theme, 
was  the  reading  of  an  advertisement  clipped  from  the 
Times,  in  which  a  landed  property  was  offered  for  sale, 
including  among  other  advantages,  that  of  a  seat  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  He  showed  also  that  the  small  tow-ns 
were   decreasing:   and   the  larger  ones   increasinfr  in  the 


50  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

number  of  inhabitants.  Any  one  ward  in  Chelsea  was 
larger  than  twen.ty-four  of  the  small  boroughs  he  named. 
*■  Sir  Charles  Dilke  is  a  man  of  good  proportions,  middle 
stature  and  a  handsome,  open  countenance,  thoughtful  in 
expression,  and  of  a  decidedly  English  look.  Prosperity 
and  honors  have,  in  his  case,  been  accompanied  by  a  full 
share  of  public  and  private  sorrows.  "^  The  death  of  his  father 
shortly  after  the  son's  entry  into  public  life,  the  fierce 
arraignment  of  his  motives  which  followed  his  action  in 
1870,  and  the  early  death  of  his  young  wife,  have  left 
their  influence  on  his  character,  strengthening  his  con- 
victions while  moderating  their  manifestations.  The  early 
death  of  Lady  Dilke,  who  is  generally  spoken  of  and  writ- 
ten about  as  a  lady  of  uncommon  brilliancy  of  talents  and 
wit,  was  widely  commented  on,  owing  to  the  fact  that  at 
her  own  request  her  remains  were  submitted  to  the  process 
of  cremation.  Lady  Dilke  was  the  daughter  of  the  late 
Arthur  Gore  Shell,  Esq.,  was  married  to  Sir  Charles  in 
1872,  and  died  in  1874. 

The  London  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune, 
writing  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  second  voyage  "  round  the 
world,"  says,  that  "  the  chief  object  of  this  journey  is 
Japan,  which  he  will  explore  as  thoroughly  as  time  and 
circumstances  permit.  Neither  in  New  York  nor  anywhere 
in  the  Eastern  States  does  he  propose  to  stop,  but  may 
renew  his  acquaintance  with  Brigham  Young  and  the  Mor« 
mons,  who  seem  to  be  an  unfailing  attraction  to  every  class 
of  Englishmen.  Whether  Sir  Charles  means  to  write  an- 
other book,  I  cannot  say.  Perhaps  he  himself  cannot  say. 
I  suppose  his  tour  is  undertaken  partly  to  satisfy  the  rest- 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  5  I 

lessness  which  at  one  time  or  another  always  resumes  its 
hold  on  a  man  who  has  traveled  much  and  rapidly  ;  partly 
to  judge  for  himself  something  of  an  extraordinary  people 
whose  relations  to  Europe,  and  particularly  to  England, 
are  growing  3'early  more  intimate.  There  is  a  great  field 
for  a  rising  English  politician  in  Oriental  questions.  Few 
Englishmen  study  them,  except  from  a  commercial  point 
of  view,  a  mistake  Sir  Charles  Dilke  will  not  commit.  He 
is  able  to  master  a  subject,  and  has  lately  shown  more 
cleverness  than  he  at  first  did  in  the  use  he  makes  of  the 
knowledge  he  accumulates. 'Once  unpopular  in  the  House 
— for  purely  political  reasons — he  is  now  popular,  having 
taken  the  sure  way  to  regain  its  confidence — constant  at- 
tendance, infrequent  speaking,  and  steadily  speaking  better. 
When  a  man  has  abilities  and  industry,  with  some  tact,  he 
need  not  wait  long  to  get  a  share  of  the  confidence  and 
good  will  of  the  House."  ' 

He  will  probably  beas  fortunate  in  this  tour  as  he  was 
in  his  first  visit  to  the  United  States.  Then,  he  saw  the 
earliest  phases  of  Southern  reconstruction  ;  now,  he  will  wit- 
ness the  reception  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  by  the  Indian 
population  and  princes,  as  well  as  learn  of  the  remarkable 
changes  both  in  conditions  and  policies,  which  are  in  pro- 
gress in  the  East.  These  experiences  cannot  but  be  of 
great  value  to  an  English  statesman,  with  prospects  before 
him  as  notable  as  those  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke./  It  is  by  no 
means  among  the  improbabilities  that  he  may  become  at 
some  not  over  distant  day,  the  actual  ruler  of  that  great 
empire,  whether  it  shall  be  as  Prime  Minister,  under  the 
system  of  liberalized  monarchy  which  has  been  described 
as  an  "hereditary  presidency," or  as  the  elected  President 


52  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  a  Constitutional  Republic.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  that 
confidence  felt  in  him,  which  George  Odger  expressed  whenj 
in  187 1,  he  said,  "I  look  upon  Sir  Charles  Dilke  as  the 
future  leader  of  the  republicans.  He  has  everything  neces- 
sary to  fit  him  for  the  position.  Whatever  he  does,  he  does 
well,  he  speaks  well  ;  he  works  well  ;  he  studies  well ;  he 
thinks  well ;  he  is  a  republican  through  and  through  from 
conviction  and  from  choice,  and  he  associates  with  republi- 
cans, for  he  really  likes  their  society,  and  it  is  because  he 
is  one  himself."!' 

Yet  this  statement  will  give,  if  unqualified,  an  erroneous 
impression  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  position.  He  himself 
has  so  good-humoredly  indicated  it  in  "Prince  Florestan,'' 
that  it  will  be  worth  while  to  quote  there-from  This  clever 
volume,  which  excited  a  great  deal  of  discussion  and  com- 
ment on  its  appearance,  was  sent  in  manuscript  to  Messrs. 
Macmillan  for  publication,  without  anything  to  indicate 
the  authorship.  At  first  they  declined  the  book,  because 
it  was  construed  by  them  to  be  a  satire  on  Sir  Charles 
Dilke.  On  their  being  satisfied  as  to  this  matter  it  was 
issued.  It  is  entitled  "  The  Fall  of  Prince  Florestan  of 
Monaco,"  and  purports  to  be  the  history  of  a  princeling 
educated  in  England  and  imbued  with  the  theoretical 
republicanism  of  the  Cambridge  school.  Monaco  is  the 
thiy  principality  on  the  coast  of  the  the  Gulf  of  Nice,  which 
was  known  as  the  principal  public  gambling  place  in  Europe, 
after  the  Kursaal,  at  Baden  and  elsewhere  in  Germany,  had 
been  suppressed.  Prince  Florestan  is  suddenly  called  to 
rule  over  his  pocket  principality,  and  on  arrival  proceeds 
to  lay  down  his  philosophy  and  carry  out  his  reform  with- 
out much  regard  to  actual  conditions.     The  stor}'  is  but  a 


SIR    CHARLES    WENTWORTH    DILKE.  53 

skeicli,  but  it  is  cleverly  clone.  Of  course  it  ends  in  his 
being  driven  out  of  Monaco.  Eveiybody  in  England 
versed  in  politics,  Cambridge  affairs,  and  the  radical  cliques 
generally,  was  much  amused  at  the  incisive  but  not  un- 
kindly satire  with  which  these  matters  were  treated.^ Dilke 
himself  was  the  best  lampooned  figure  in  the  group.  l"he 
"  Prince  "  says  :  "  Fired  with  the  enthusisam  of  my  party 
and  my  age,  I  had  subscribed  to  the  Woman's  Suffrage  As- 
sociation, to  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  election  expenses,  to  the 
Anti-Game-Law  Association  and  to  the  Education  League. 
Mv  reading  was  less  one-sided  than  my  politics,  and  my 
republicanism  was  tempered  by  an  unwavering  worship  of 
'  Lothair.'  Mr.  Disraeli  was  my  admiration  as  a  public  man 
— a  Bismarck  without  his  physique  and  his  opportunities 
— but  then  in  politics  one  always  prefers  one's  opponents 
to  one's  friends.  As  a  republican,  I  had  a  cordial  aversion 
to  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  a  clever  writer,  but  an  awfully  dull 
speaker,  who  imagines  that  his  forte  is  public  speaking,  and 
who,  having  been  brought  up  in  a  set  of  strong  prejudices, 
positively  makes  a  merit  of  never  having  got  over  them. 
This  he  calls  '  never  changing  his  opinions.'  For  Mr. 
Gladstone  I  had  the  ordinary  undergraduate  detestation. 
There  are  no  liberals  at  Cambridge,  we  were  all  rank 
republicans  or  champions  of  right  divine. 'y 

After  an  amusing  account  of  his  efforts  as  Prince  of 
Monaco,  "  Florestan  "  says :  "  The  only  later  views  that  I 
have  to  record  is  a  letter  from  my  friend  Gambetta,  promis- 
ing that  when  he  becomes  President  of  France  I  shall  be 
Prdfet  of  the  Department  of  the  Alpes  Maritimes,  which 
includes  my  ex-dominions,  on  condition  that  I  am  very 
moderate."  / 


54  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

This  amusing jeu  d'' esprit  ended  of  course,  with  a  refer- 
ence to  the  reception  in  England  of  the  news  of  the 
"  Prince's  "  downfall ;  and  the  little  satire  winds  up  by  the 
following  apt  reflections  on  English  affairs,  illustrative  of 
the  different  conditions  that  prevailed  in  Monaco  : 

"  In  England  you  have  a  divided  Church ;  an  increas- 
ing and  active  though  still  little  numerous  Catholic  body  ;  a 
materialistic  world  of  fashion  which  goes  alternately  to  Mr. 
Wilkinson  and  Canon  Liddon,  Mr.  Haweis  and  Mr.  Stop- 
ford  Brooke,  and  does  not  believe  a  word  that  any  of  them 
says — unless  it  is  Mr.  Haweis;  but  then,  doctrinally  speak- 
ing, he  says  nothing.  You  have  the  old  non-conformist 
bodies,  able  and  powerful  still,  though  less  powerful  than 
before  1868 ;  and  you  have  the  A\'esleyans,  pulpy  and  rich. 
Outside  of  them  all  you  have  people  who  believe,  two-thirds 
of  them,  in  the  Bible  pure  and  simple,  but  with  prominence 
given  in  their  mind"  to  the  communistic  side  of  the  New 
Testament;  and  one-third  in  nothing  unless  it  is  Mr. 
Charles  Watts,  Mr.  Austin  Holyoake,  and  Mr.  Bradlaugh. 
The  most  flourishing  publications  in  your  country  are 
ZadkieVs  Almanac  and  Reynolds^  Newspaper,  belonging  to 
the  opposite  poles,  but  equally  at  war  with  all  that  is  most 
powerful  and  rich  and  respectable  in  society." 

This  holding  up  the  mirror  to  society  so  amused  the 
English  club  and  political  circles  that  when  it  became  known 
that  Sir  Charles  was  himself  the  author,  it  put  everybody 
in  such  good  humor  as  to  take  the  personal  sting  out  of 
his  ultraism.  It  was  felt  that  a  man  so  thoroughly  in 
harmony  with  himself  as  to  be  able  to  laugh  at  and  with 
the  incongruous  elements  in  his  position,  was  a  man  of 
much  more  weight  and  metal,  than  he  had  heretofore  ob- 
tained credit  for. 


III. 


Peter    A.   Taylor. 


OLITICAL  principles  are  often  inherited  in  Eng- 
land, like  landed  property.  Nor  is  this  peculiarity 
all  confined  to  the  country  gentlemen  and  the  scions 
of  the  great  families —  Whig  or  Tory.  The  denominational 
relations  of  a  household  will  shape  the  future  political  posi- 
tions of  the  young  men  growing  around  the  hearth-stone,  just 
as  they  did  those  of  their  father.  This  is  quite  often  true  of 
the  wealthier  middle-class  families— commercial  or  manu- 
facturing— who  are  usually  the  lay  leaders  of  the  non-con- 
forming sects.  The  further  removed  these  are  from  the 
Church  Establishment,  the  moie  radical,  as  a  rule,  are  the 
politics ;  the  closer  too  the  communion  among  themselves. 
This  even  extends  to  matrimonial  relations,  so  that  the 
larger  portion  of  whole  congregations  may  be  often 
found  distantly  related  to  each  other.  The  member  for 
Leicester  is  the  head  of  one  of  the  most  noted  Unitarian 
families,  and  comes  nalurally  by  the  talents  and  radicalism 
which  make  him  a  marked  man  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. 


5 6  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Peter  A.  Taylor  was  born  in  London,  in  1819,  and  is  now 
in  his  56th  year.     His  father  was  a  very  well  known  silk 
manufacturer,  of  the  firm  of  Courtauld,  Taylor  &  Court- 
auld.     Their  sons   are    still   in   the   same   business.    The 
elder  partners,    Samuel   Courtauld  and  Peter  A.  Taylor, 
Sen.,  were  well  known   Unitarians  and   Liberals  in  their 
day,  as  their  sons  are  at  this  time.     Mr.  Taylor,  Sen.,  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  active  members  of  the  Corn 
Law  League,  but  not  being  a  popular  speaker,  his  reputa- 
tion is  not  as  widely  known  as  that  of  others.     It  was  a 
period  of  intense  agitation,  of  deep  and  abiding  utility  in 
the  work  performed.    The  Corn  Law  League  discussion,  in 
its  origin  and  progress,  embraced  some  of  the  finest  talent 
of  England,  as  it  certainly  did  by  its  earnestness  arouse 
the  enthusiasm  of  nearly  all   classes,  a  result  which  can 
hardly  be  said  to  prove  the  economic  theories  which  have 
grown  in  the  shadow  of  its  triumph.     The  "  Manchester 
School," — as  the  hard,  dry  measurers  of  human  lives  and 
human  society,  by  the  rule  of  "  supply  and  demand  "  are 
now  termed, — evoke  no  sympathetic  feeling,  arouse  no  admi- 
ration or  regard,  whatever  they  may  compel  by  their  ability, 
logic  and  success. 

The  Westminster  Reviezo,  under  the  proprietorship  of 
Col.  T.  Perronet  Thompson,  was  the  pioneer  in  the  Corn 
Law  agitation,  and  the  papers  which  that  veteran  radical 
wrote  for  its  pages  and  has  since  republished  in  his  col- 
lected writings,*  were  among  the  most  valuable  of  all  that 
were  written  to  call  attention  to  the  monopoly.  Then  came 
the  Corn  Law  Rhymer,  Ebenezer  Elliott,  whose  powerful 

*  "  Political  Exercises."     6  Vols. 


PETER    A.    TAYLOR.  57 

and  melodious  lyrics  were  first  published  in  Tait's  Edin' 
burgh  Magazine,  of  which  W.  E.  Hickson,  wholesale  iron- 
monger, was  the  proprietor.  Mr.  Hickson  owned  the  IVest- 
?ninster  Review  after  Col.  Thompson  retired.  It  was  then- 
the  Libc}-al  Quarterly,  par  excellence.  Then  came  Mr.  W. 
J.  Fox,  known  as  an  eloquent  Unitarian  divine  and  pulpit 
orator  but  more  widely  as  the  "  Norwich  Weaver  Boy,"  of 
the  Anti-Corn  Law  League's  organ  ;  as  the  "  Publicola"  of 
the  London  Weekly  Dispatch,  and  also  as  the  Member  for 
Oldham, — a  cotton  mill  borough  in  Lancashire,  where 
great  studies  are  now  being  made  towards  solving  the 
problem  of  Labor  and  Capital,  through  the  increasing  own- 
ership by  the  former  of  the  latter,  by  the  application  of  the 
joint  stock  and  limited  liability  ideas  to  the  ownership 
of  cotton  and  other  factories. 

Mr.  Fox  published  and  edited  the  Monthly  Repository, 
and  in  its  pages  many  of  Elliott's  Corn  Law  and  Reform 
lyrics  appeared,  as  did  those  of  Sarah  Flower  Adams,  wife 
of  William  Brydges  Adams,  who,  with  John  Stuart  Mill, 
Mazzini,  Mr.  Hickson  himself,  and  others,  wrote  for  the 
great  quarterly.  The  Cambridgeshire  Intelligencer,  edited 
by  Mr.  Flower,  father  of  Mrs.  Adams,  was  the  first  really 
liberal  paper  in  England.  With  all  these  persons  and  their 
associates,  the  father  of  Peter  A.  Taylor,  an  able  and  modest 
man,  was  actively  engaged,  in  the  Anti-Corn  Law,  Church 
Rates  and  Reform  agitations.  His  sons  were  brought  up 
in  the  atmosphere  thus  generated,  and  the  eldest,now  a  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  and  the  "  dean  "  of  the  extreme  or  Rad- 
ical wing  of  the  Liberal  party,  has  established  his  rightful 
heirship  to  the  opinions  and  policies  it  naturally  engendered. 

When  Mr.  Taylor  himself  entered  public  life  nearly 
3* 


58  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

thirty  years  since,  English  politics  were  in  state  of  ferment 
amounting  almost  to  turbulence.  The  Chartist  movement 
represented  one  wing  of  that  activit}^,  and  the  more  popular 
or  radical  one  ;  while  the  calmer  and  more  thoughtful  phase 
of  current  discussion  found  expression  through  a  small  but 
influential  body  of  political  writers  and  thinkers  known  as  the 
"  Philosophical  Radicals."  This  school  was  deeply  influ- 
enced by  the  teachings  of  Joseph  Mazzini,  whose  politics 
were  always  kept  true  to  a  high  ideal  by  a  lofty  sense  of  duty. 
Those  who  belonged  to  the  school  were  intimately  acquaint- 
ed with  European  affairs,  and  endeavored  heartily  to  aid  the 
Italian  leader  in  his  chosen  work  by  creating  a  favorable 
public  opinion  in  Great  Britain.  They  understood  also 
that  long  preparation  is  necessary  to  make  Republicans, 
and  in  seeking  to  set  in  operation  principles  of  government, 
believed  that  in  the  end  forms  would  necessarily  become 
harmoniously  adjusted  to  these.  Among  the  better  known 
of  those  who  belonged  to  this  class  of  thinkers  was  the 
member  for  Leicester — then  a  young  man,  rich  and  popular. 
Others  may  be  mentioned,  as  Thornton  Hunt,  son  of  the 
graceful  poet  and  critic  ;  William  J.  Linton,  the  artist ; 
George  Jacob  Holyoake,  whose  ai tides  on  the  American 
abolition  movement  over  the  signature  of  "  Ion,"  obtained 
from  Wendell  Phillips  in  reply,  one  of  the  most  notable 
orations  of  his  life  ;  Mr.  Stansfield,  afterwards  in  Parlia- 
ment ;  Goodwyn  Barmby  ;  Doctor,  afterwards  Sir  John 
Bowring ;  W.  H.  Ashurst ;  Mr.  Asher,  (now  solicitor  to  the 
General  Post  Office);  Thomas  Cooper;  W.  J.  Fox  ; — these 
with  others  were  members  of  the  class  which  founded  the 
Leader  and  left  through  that  and  other  channels  a  distinct 
impression  on  British  affairs. 


PETER   A.    TAYLOR.  59 

Peter  A.  Taylor  has  been  consistent  to  his  earlier  con- 
victions. That  fact,  combined  with  his  courtesy  and  moral 
worth,  has  won  for  him, during  his  fifteen  years  of  continued 
parliamentary  service,  the  respect  of  all  who  associated 
with  him,  however  much  they  may  be  hostile  to  his  opinion. 
Jn  Dod's  Parliamentary  Guide,  he  is  now  recorded  as  "a 
Liberal,"  favoring  extension  of  the  suffrage,  an  extensive 
re-distribution  of  seats,  abolition  of  the  rate-paying  quali- 
fication, the  total  abolition  of  the  game  laws,  and  it  might 
be  added  of  the  unpaid  magistracy  of  England,  and  of  all 
grants  beyond  the  Civil  List  to  members  of  the  Royal 
family.  Mr.  Taylor  long  antedates  Sir  Charles  Dilke  in 
his  antagonism  to  the  last  grants,  and  has  never  failed  to 
speak  and  vote  against  them,  even  though  he  has  gone  into 
the  lobby  alone,  when  the  House  divided  on  his  motion. 
The  London  correspondent  of  a  leading  New  York  paper 
pays  Mr.  Taylor  this  sarcastic  compliment,  when  referring 
to  his  vote  on  appropriating  $250,000  for  the  expenses  of 
the  trip  to  India  made  by  the  Prince  of  Wales — that  among 
others,  it  was  opposed  "  by  Mr.  P.  A.  Taylor,  a  sentimen- 
tal revolutionist,  whose  mission  in  life  is  to  save  ruffianly 
wife  beaters  and  kickers  from  the  lash,  and  to  get  the  royal 
family  cashiered." 

Mr.  Taylor's  connection  with  the  South  Place  Chapel 
— which  stands  to  Unitarianism  in  England  somewhat  as 
Theodore  Parker  and  his  congregation  did  to  the  same 
denomination  in  New  England,  has  helped  to  make  him 
the  representative  of  the  liberal  thought  that  gathered 
around  such  men  as  the  famous  W.  J.  Fox,  known  when 
living  as  one  of  the  most  eloquent  orators  in  England.  He 
has  always  been  an  ardent  advocate  of   disestablishment 


6o  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

for  the  State  Church,  and  of  Public  Schools  supported  by 
taxation,  with  secular  and  compulsory  education  for  the 
children.  Mr.  Taylor  is  the  proprietor  of  the  Examiner,  a 
weekly  journal  and  review  that  has  been  long  known  for 
its  identity  with  radical  reform  in  English  politics  and  af- 
fairs. Under  his  proprietorship  it  is  reassuming  the  leading 
place  it  maintained  when  it  was  contributed  to  or  edited 
by  men  like  Leigh  Hunt,  Grote,  Place  and  others  of  that 
day.  Its  boldness  and  plain-speaking  verges  on  the  trench- 
ant order.  It  has  handled  the  Heir  Apparent  without 
gloves,  at  the  risk,  if  its  estimates  of  that  work  be  true,  of 
having  its  own  hands  soiled.  "  The  Greville  Memoirs  "  af- 
forded a  fair  excuse  for  this  freedom  of  discussion.  The  ex- 
aminer reviewed  the  Life  of  the  late  Prince  Consort,  and  did 
it  in  a  style  of  singular  candor,  considering  how  everything 
but  adulation  is  tabooed  on  that  theme.  "While  the  popular 
judgment  of  the  Prince  during  his  lifetime  was  far  from 
erring  as  gravely  on  the  side  of  exaggeration  as  his  own 
opinion  of  himself,  or  the  laudation  of  a  little  clique  about 
the  court,  his  memory  for  the  last  fourteen  years  has  been 
unrelentingly  pursued  by  posthumous  adulation.  He  was 
merely  a  commonplace,  plodding  person,  with  fair  natural 
capacities  carefully  trained,  and  not  a  gleam  of  the  warmer 
imaginative  fires  of  the  intellect.  In  its  well-tilled  flatness 
his  mind  resembled  those  Flemish  farms  wh^ere  a  hillock 
or  a  hedge  is  resented  as  a  loss  of  valuable  ground." 
These  criticisms  indicate  the  general  direction  of  Mr. 
Taylor's  course  in  relation  to  royal  grants,  and  similar 
measures,  for  which  course  he  inevitably  receives  the 
severest  criticisms.  Yet  the  senior  member  for  Leicester 
makes    no   pretensions   of    favoring   republicanism.      He 


PETER    A.    TAYLOR.  6 1 

simply  oxercises,  as  he  claims,  his  right  to  see  that  the 
executive  is  not  more  extravagantly  or  ostentatiously  dealt 
with  than  are  the  other  officers  of  the  Kingdom.  He  has 
ma<le  himself  the  representative  of  this  view  and  has  un- 
doubtedly won  the  respect  of  the  House  by  his  courtesy, 
consistency,  and  unwavering  courage. 

A  notable  incident  in  the  earlier  political  life  of  Mr. 
Taylor  was  his  connection  with  the  agitation  led  by  Mr. 
Thomas  S.  Buncombe,  so  long  member  for  Finsbury,  on 
account  of  Sir  James  Graham's  action  while  Postmaster- 
General  during  Sir  Robert  Peel's  last  administration,  in 
opening  for  the  benefit  of  the  Austrian  Government  the 
letters  of  Mazzini  and  other  Italian  revolutionists,  then 
living  in  England  as  political  refugees.  The  fact  of  the 
opening  was  acknowledged  by  Sir  James  Graham  before  a 
secret  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons.  In  the  out- 
door discussion  and  agitation  Mr.  Taylor,  then  quite  a 
young  man,  took  an  active  part.  He  became  identified 
soon  after  with  the  "  People's  International  League,"  which 
was  founded  in  1856-7,  and  enrolled  among  its  sympathizers 
or  active  advocates  such  names  as  Grote,  Place,  Hume, 
Dr.  Bowring,  Barmby,  Henry  Vincent,  Dr.  Epps,  James 
Watson,  Mr.  Solly  (since  known  as  the  organizer  of  the 
Workingmen's  Clubs  in  England),  Thornton  Hunt,  Lin- 
ton and  the  Messrs.  Taylor,  father  and  son.  The  object 
of  the  League  was  stated  to  be  the  enlightenment  of  the 
"  British  Public  as  to  the  Political  Conditions  and  Relations 
of  Foreign  Countries.;  to  Disseminate  the  Principles  of 
National  Freedom  and  Progress  ;  to  embody  and  mani- 
fest an  efficient  public  opinion  in  favor  of  the  right  of 
every  people  to  self  government  and  the  maintenance  of 


62  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

their  own  Nationality  ;  to  promote  a  good  understanding 
between  the  people  of  all  countries."  In  an  address  full 
of  warm  appeal  and  genuine  fire,  it  was  urged  that  the 
Unity  of  Humanit}%  which  expresses  the  law  of  individual 
intercourse,  also  includes  the  law  of  the  inter-communica- 
tion of  nations.  *  *  *  As  no  man  will  reach  heaven 
who  seeks  to  reach  it  alone,  so  no  nation  will  ever  develop 
the  highest  and  most  enduring  forms  of  national  life,  while 
it  is  contented  to  remain  the  passive  and  uninterested 
spectator  of  the  onward  and  upward  struggles  of  kindred 
peoples.  Multiplication  in  unity  is  the  law  or  type  of  Na- 
tional progression.  May  not  a  calm  and  peaceful  evolu- 
tion avert  the  threatened  strife  ?  Why  can  not  these 
Nationalities  be  recognized — as  each  proves  the  justice  of 
its  claim, — be  set  free  to  develop  each  its  own  peculiar 
growth,  to  fulfil  each  its  own  special  mission,  so  to  work 
out  God's  providential  plan  ?  For,  if  this  is  not  God's 
plan,  languages,  tendencies,  traditions,  geographical  char- 
acteristics, have  no  meaning.  When  a  people  is  struggling 
to  embody  its  inner  life  in  new  forms  of  outward  institu- 
tion, why  not  hail  the  event,  and  assist  instead  of  hinder- 
ing its  ascent  to  the  dignity  and  capacity  of  a  nation  ? 

"  The  League  was  formed,"  continues  the  address,  "  in 
the  interests  of  peace,  as  based  on  civilization  and  human 
progress,  and  to  that  end  seeks  to  know  the  conditions  and 
circumstances  of  all  nations. 

"  With  political  questions,"  it  declares  "  except  this 
question  of  Nationality,  we,  as  a  League,  have  nothing  to 
do.  With  forms  of  government,  with  contests  between 
Democracy  and  Privilege,we,  as  a  League,  cannot  interfere." 

Mr.  Taylor  at  the  first  public  meeting  of  the  League 


Los  Aitgetes.  ^ai. 

PETER    A.    TAYLOR.  63 

made  a  speech,  in  which  he  declared  that  every  nation 
must  decide  its  own  form  of  government,  "  by  the  national 
tendencies,  the  state  of  education  and  enlightenment  of 
each  and  every  people." 

During  the  secession  war,  Mr.  Taylor  was  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  close,  an  active  friend  of  the  Union  cause 
in  Great  Britain.  In  conjunction  with  the  member  for 
Rochdale,  Mr.  Potter,  John  Bright,  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes, 
and  other  gentlemen,  he  gave  his  money  and  his  labors 
ungrudgingly  to  promote  English  sympathy  in  favor  of 
the  Federal  struggle.  How  much  of  the  former  was 
spent  by  Mr.  Taylor,  Mr.  Bazley  Potter,  and  other 
friends,  will  probably  never  be  known.  There  was  a 
period  in  the  progress  of  the  civil  war,  when  the  in- 
tervention of  Great  Britain  seemed  imminent. .  It  would 
certainly  have  been  disastrous.  It  was  during  the  latter 
part  of  1862,  when  the  Confederate  agents  in  England 
spent  money  freely  in  the  efforts  to  induce  the  work- 
ing class  organizations,  leader  and  organs,  to  pronounce  in 
favor  of  their  government's  raising  the  blockade  of  the 
Southern  ports  by  force,  under  the  pretext  of  obtaining 
cotton,  and  so  ending  what  is  known  as  the  "  cotton  fam- 
ine." Messrs.  Lindsay,  Laird  &  Co.,  who  were  in  parlia- 
ment, hard  at  work  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  recognition  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy,  were  aided  by  the  efforts  made 
to  arouse  the  masses.  But,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  Radical  leaders  and  their  followers,  with  the  popula- 
tions in  those  centres  from  which  their  strength  is  derived, 
never  for  a  day  wavered  in  their  support  of  the  Union 
cause,  or  faltered  in  their  apprehension  of  the  motives 
which  led  so  large  a  proportion  of    the   land-governing, 


64  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

commercial  and  trading  classes  to  side  with  the  South. 
In  London,  Liverpool,  and  Glasgow  alone  of  the  great 
cities  of  that  countr}',  was  there  either  a  marked  hostility 
or  coldness  on  the  part  of  the  working  men.  In  Liver- 
pool, the  close  relations  of  its  leading  interests  with  the 
Cotton  States,  accounted  for  this  in  large  degree.  Glas- 
gow was  the  centre  for  the  blockade  runners.  London 
was  cold  because  her  workmen  were  not  as  compactly 
united,  and  could  not  be  reached  as  well  as  was  the  case 
with  the  same  class  in  the  manufacturing  towns.  In  fact 
where  the  war  caused  the  most  suffering,  there  was  shown 
the  most  fidelity  to  principles,  and  an  outspoken  faith  in 
the  American  Republic,  which  contrasted  strongly  with 
the  lukewarmness  exhibited  in  some  quarters  at  home. 

In  speaking  of  this,  Mr.  Taylor's  active  aid  to  the 
work  cannot  be  overlooked.  His  purse-strings  were  un- 
loosened, and  his  money  was  freely  given  for  the  publica- 
tion of  documents,  the  expenses  of  meetings,  and  to  en- 
able leading  workingmen  like  Odger,  Howell,  and  others, 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  task  of  organizing  and  ani- 
mating their  associates.  Mr.  Taylor  spoke  whenever  his 
voice  was  of  service,  in  or  out  of  the  House,  and  subse- 
quently when  the  Alabama  discussion  again  aroused  hos- 
tile feeling,  he  remained  unshaken  by  the  excitement  in- 
volved by  Senator  Sumner's  severe  arraignment  of  English 
policy.  Speaking  on  the  escape  of  the  confederate  cruis- 
ers, Mr.  Taylor  addressing  his  constituency  in  1868,  said 
that  "  The  Alabama  went  forth  freighted  with  something 
worse  than  guns  and  men,  to  fire  upon  American  com-, 
merce  ;  it  bore  a  heavy  freight  of  jealousy,  ill-will  and  sus- 
picion."    The  course  pursued,  he  declared,  was  only  cal- 


PETER    A.    TAYLOR.  65 

Ciliated  to  "  promote  discord  between  the  two  greatest  and 
freest  peoples  in  the  world."  Alluding  to  the  Reform  league 
agitation,  and  the  Hyde  Park  demonstrations,  he  said  that 
Russia  was  sometimes  spoken  of  "  as  a  despotism  tem- 
pered with  assassination,"  but  Great  Britain  might  be  con- 
sidered "  as  a  class  government  modified  by  Hyde  Park 
railings."  Refering  to  complaints  of  the  Irish  people,  and 
the  growth  of  the  "  Home  Rule"  movement,  the  "  Irrecon- 
cilable "  member  said :  "  We  cannot  afford  to  part  with 
you.  We  have  a  common  battle  to  fight.  You  are  no 
(onger  oppressed  as  you  were  fifty  years  ago ;  you  suffer 
now  under  an  apprehension  which  Englishmen  also  feel. 
You  are  overlaid  with  the  landed  power,  so  are  we  ;  and 
were  it  not  that  our  manufactures  act  as  a  set  oft'  to  the 
evil  we  endure  under  the  remains  of  the  feudal  system,  all 
England  would  be  (as  Norfolk  and  Wiltshire  indeed  are) 
like  Munster." 

That  Mr.  Taylor  possesses  the  entire  confidence  of  his 
constituency,  is  evident  from  the  bold  and  independent 
policy  he  pursues.  When  taunted  on  one  occasion  that  he 
would  not  be  supported  for  opposing  a  royal  grant — that 
of  the  marriage  portion  or  gift  to  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh, 
Mr.  Taylor  replied  by  visiting  Leicester,  and  before  a  large 
meeting — ten  thousand  persons  being  present — he  made  a 
statement  of  his  action.  He  then  asked  for  a  vote  in  ap- 
proval or  disapproval,  and  received  an  unanimous  endorse- 
ment. Mr.  G.  W.  Smalley,  the  London  correspondent  of 
the  New  York  Tribune,  said  in  a  letter  "  Mr.  Taylor  in- 
deed, can  afford  to  be  as  radical  as  he  likes,  and  has  a 
constituency  which  respects  him  for  his  frankness  and 
ability." 

5 


66  BRIEF    BIOffRArHIES. 

But  his  chief  public  labors  have  been  directed  towards 
the  abolition  of  the  game  laws  and  of  the  unpaid  magis- 
tracy. Few  persons,  without  a  personal  knowledge 
of  English  affairs,  or  accurate  information  from  close 
study,  can  comprehend  the  character  of  these  two 
abuses,  or  the  tenacity  with  which  reform  in  these  directions 
is  resisted.  The  game  laws  have  long  been,  and  are  yet 
an  infamous  adjunct  of  the  land  monopoly,  and  are  sus- 
tained simply  for  the  amusement  of  a  limited  class.  It 
should  be  however  borne  in  mind,  that  an  English  Premier 
who  should  fail  to  get  through  the  public  business,  or  ad- 
journ Parliament  in  time  for  the  August  grouse  shooting, 
or  at  latest  the  beginning  of  September,  would  stand  very 
little  chance  of  preserving  the  friendship  of  his  followers, 
and  would  in  fact  have  committed  as  serious  a  blow  at 
time-honored  customs,  as  if  he  had  assailed  the  crown, 
or  worse  still,  the  law  of  primogeniture  itself.  Capt. 
Maxse,  a  well  known  radical,  who  however  differs  some- 
what from  Mr.  Taylor  on  this  question,  speaking  of  the 
stringent  trespass  laws  that  have  been  passed  in  connec- 
tion with  the  preservation  of  game,  says: 

"  In  most  districts  in  England  no  lawful  highways  now  exist  be- 
yond the  dusty  or  miry  road,  and  yet  there  is  scarcely  a  piece  of  land 
which  may  not  during  some  portion — frequently  a  long  one — of  the 
year  be  traversed  without  damage." 

He  urges  that  laws  against  trespass  are  necessary,  and 
thinks  the  member  for  Leicester  has  failed  in  presenting 
them  while  demanding  the  repeal  of  the  game  laws.     He 

says  : 

"  I  have  a  very  high  opinion  of  Mr.  Peter  A.  Taylor,  but  I  hold  that 
he  has  misdirected  public  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  the  game 
grievance.     He  has  very  properly  aroused  indignation  against  it,  but 


PETER    A.    TAYLOR.  f] 

he  has  not  known  how  to  formulate  this  indignation  into  a  just  de- 
mand, and  his  habit  of  comparing  the  hare  to  a  Bengal  tiger  brings 
the  whole  subject  into  ridicule.  It  is  true,  Mr.  Taylor  says  a  '  new 
Trespass  Law  might  be  passed,'  but  in  the  same  breath  he  invites  the 
'  slayer  of  wild  animals'  '  into  the  field.'  The  result  of  this  can  only 
be  constant  broil  and  tumult.  I  am  of  Mr.  Mill's  opinion  upon  the 
matter,  namely,  'that  wild  animals  should  belong  to  those  at  whose  ex- 
pense they  have  been  fed,  the  nearest  approach  to  which  is  that  they 
should  belong  to  the  occupier  of  the  land  on  which  they  are  taken  or 
killed.'  If  they  are  found  upon  the  highway  or  public  ground  they 
should  belong  to  the  public." 

How  much  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Taylor,  and  those  asso- 
ciated with  him  now,  or  who  preceded  him  in  the  agitation, 
have  accomplished,  may  be  judged  by  some  words  of  Mr. 
Fowell  Buxton,  uttered  in  1S21,  urging  the  modification 
of  the  animal  laws  he  said  :  "Kill  your  father,  or  a  rabbit 
in  a  warren,  the  penalty  is  the  same ; — destroy  these  king- 
doms, or  a  hop  vine,  the  penalty  is  the  same  ; — m.eet  a 
gipsy  on  the  high  road,  keep  company  with  him  or  kill 
him,  the  penalty  by  law  is  the  same, — that  penalty  being, 
death." 

The  unpaid  justices  of  the  peace,  are  wholly  taken  from 
the  land  owning  class.  In  fact  such  a  commission  can  only 
be  given  to  a  person  possessed  of  a  certain  freehold  in  fee 
simple.  It  is  therefore  practically  a  class  tribunal  of  con- 
siderable importance.  To  defending  those  who  have  been 
unjustly  convicted  for  poaching,  trespass,  breach  of  labor 
contracts,  etc.,  and  otherwise  exposing  the  incompetency 
of  such  magistrates,  Mr.  Taylor  has  devoted  the  greater 
part  of  his  Parliamentary  efforts.  Like  Mr.  Plimsoll,  he 
never  yields  ;  but  unlike  his  excitable  friend,  he  never 
loses  his  temper.  He  has  at  last  obtained  the  ear  of  the 
House,  and  when  rising  in  his  place  he  calls  its  attention 


68  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

to  some  such  matter,  he  is  sure  of  respectful  attention  from 
the  Government  benches  as  well  as  from  the  Opposition. 

The  session  of  1875  Dresented  a  notable  case  of  this, 
in  the  person  of  Luke  Hill,  a  farm  laborer  hired  as  a  carter 
by  one  Captain  Hyde,  a  farmer  and  land  owner  in  Sussex. 
The  laborer  was  convicted  for  breach  of  contract  under 
the  "  Master  and  Servant  Act."  Capt.  Hyde  claimed  that 
the  man  had  hired  himself  for  one  year,  and  on  his  leaving 
some  time  after  hiring,  had  him  arrested  and  taken  before 
a  Bench  of  County  justices,  who  convicted  him  and  fined 
him  ^5  as  damage.  Capt.  Hyde  estimated  his  loss  at  ^9, 
but  only  claimed  the  smaller  sum.  The  man  was  allowed 
a  fortnight  to  procure  the  money  and  was  then  sent  to 
prison  for  three  months  for  non-payment.  The  convic- 
tion created  a  great  deal  of  indignation.  The  "  Laborers 
Union"  took  it  up  and  agitated  boldly.  It  was  claimed  on 
Hill's  part  that  he  had  made  no  such  contract,  and  that 
having  given  the  lawful  notice  of  twelve  days,  he  was 
entitled  to  leave.  No  contract- was  produced,  other  than 
a  memorandum  in  Capt.  Hyde's  pocket  book,  which  he 
stated  was  made  at  the  time  of  the  hiring  and  shown  to 
Hill.  At  any  rate,  it  was  easy  to  prove  how  dispropor- 
tioned  the  punishment  was  to  the  offence.  Mr.  Taylor  in 
calling  attention  to  the  case  said  it  reminded  him  "  in  its 
high-handed  justice,  of  the  stories  we  have  read  in  Smol- 
lett and  Fielding  of  the  magistracy  of  their  day." 

The  Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Cross,  said  it  was  beyond 
his  power  to  release  or  remit  the  fine,  in  such  a  case. 
The  amount  was  raised  and  Hill  was  set  free  after  a 
month's  imprisonment.  The  case  assumed  considerable 
importance  to  the  Agricultural   Laborers'   agitation,   and 


PETER    A.    TAYLOR.  69 

quite  a  large  demonstration  occurred  on  the  day  of  his 
discliarge.  Mr.  Taylor  spoke  briefly,  saying  they  met  to 
welcome  Luke  Hill  and  assure  him  "  in  their  name,  that 
the  disgrace  which  attached  to  a  gaol-bird  did  not  attach 
to  him  ;  that,  in  their  opinion,  he  left  the  prison  without 
a  taint  upon  his  character,  and  that  the  disgrace  which 
usually  attached  to  such  a  punishment  attached  to  those 
who  sent  him  there.  This  was  not  a  slight  case.  As  he 
stated  in  the  House  of  Commons,  it  was  one  in  which  a 
.  man,  with  a  long  honest  record  behind  him,  without  the 
slightest  offence  or  any  misdeed  attaching  to  him,  had 
been  ruined,  so  far  as  it  lay  in  the  hands  of  his  judges 
to  do  so.  It  was  only  because  his  case  was  so 
flagrant  that  it  had  been  exposed  to  the  world : 
he  feared  that  there  were  scores  of  cases  of  which 
they  had  never  heard,  and  in  which  the  ruin  of 
persons  followed  sentences  such  as  Hill's."  Mr.  Tay- 
lor declared  that  not  only  was  the  conviction  unjust, 
but  illegal.  He  believed  that,  by  the  Statute  of  Frauds, 
no  agreement  which  was  not  for  a  period  within  a  year 
was  legal,  unless  regularly  signed  and  stamped.  In  this 
case  that  was  not  done,  and  therefore  he  considered  that 
the  sentence  was  a  distinctly  illegal  one.  He  charged  also 
that  the  injustice  was  done  knowingly,  as  there  was  not 
that  legal  proof  of  contracts  the  law  required  ;  and  in 
closing  he  urged  the  necessity  of  the  laborers  obtaining 
the  franchise.  This,  he  said,  was  not  merely  as  a  general 
principle  of  abstract  justice,  that  all  men  should  be  repre- 
sented who  are  taxed,  but  that  all  those  who  are  called 
upon  to  obey  laws  should  have  a  share  in  making  thera 
through  their  representatives. 


70  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  socially  a  great  favorite,  and  his  London 
residence,  Aubrey  House,  is  the  centre  of  a  delightful 
society.  His  wife  is  a  most  accomplished  lady,  whom  ht 
knew  first  as  the  governess  of  his  sisters  ;  and  she,  like 
Mrs.  Fawcett,  is  an  active  leader  in  all  public  movements 
relating  to  the  condition  of  woman.  They  have  no  child- 
ren, but  their  cultivation  and  literaiy  tastes  draw  round 
them  a  large  circle  of  those  whose  names  are  best  known 
in  literature  and  art.  One  of  the  most  attractive  private 
clubs  in  London,  the  "  Pen  and  Pencil,"  held  for  a  long 
time  its  meetings  at  their  house. 


IV. 


Sir  John  Lubbock,  Baronet. 


T  the  annual  meeting,  in  1867,  of  the  British  associ- 
ation for  the  advancement  of  science,  a  generous 
and  well-deserved  compliment  was  paid  by  the 
distinguished  savant  whose  name  heads  this  page,  while  he 
presided  over  one  of  the  sections  of  that  learned  body,  to  a 
gentleman  sitting  in  the  gathering  but  not  of  it,  a  jour- 
nalist reporting  the  proceedings  for  the  New  York  Tribune. 
The  correspondent  was  George  Jacob  Holyoake,  and  Sir 
John  Lubbock,  in  speaking  of  him,  referred  to  the  service 
he  had  rendered  the  cause  of  free  inquiry  by  his  fearless 
assertion  of  the  right,  and  his  unyielding  endurance  of  perse- 
cution in  consequence.  Mr.  Holyoake  is  the  founder  of  the 
secularist  movement  in  Great  Britian  ;  and  was  the  last  man 
imprisoned  there  for  what  the  law  termed  blasphemy,  but 
which  in  reality  in  his  case  was  no  more  so  than  the  studies 
and  the  discussions  consequent  thereupon,  which  have 
since  made  renowned  the  names  of  Huxley,  Darwin, 
Tyndall,  Lubbock,  and  Spencer.      The  baronet  declared. 


72  BRIEF    BIOGRArHIES. 

that  but  for  the  labors  of  Mr.  Holyoake,  it  might  not  have 
been  possible  for  them,  the  saz'a/is,  to  speak  as  freely  as 
they  do  in  these  days. 

The  incident  is  characteristic  of  the  liberal  member 
for  Maidstone.  A  gentleman  uniting  in  himself  the  broad- 
est reputation  for  scholarship  and  science  ;  great  aptitude 
for  his  business  as  a  banker,  and  a  wise,  lirm  radicalism  in 
politics,  which  makes  him  deservedly  popular  with  the 
people ;  while  of  him,  as  of  Prof.  Fawcett,  it  may  well  be 
said,  "The  true  liberal  is  more  and  more  felt  to  be  he 
who,  while  trusting  the  heart  of  the.  people,  does  not  bow 
to  their  superstitions  or  their  prejudices,  and,  while  serving 
them,  does  not  suffer  their  dictation  as  to  the  way  in  which 
the  service  shall  be  rendered."'  * 

Sir  John  Lubbock  was  born  in  1834.  He  is  the  son  of  Sir 
John  William  Lubbock,  of  iMitcham  Grove,  Surrey,  and 
High  Elms,  Down,  Kent,  eminent  as  a  mathematician  and 
astronomer,  and  of  Harriet  his  wife,  daughter  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  George  Hotham.  The  baronetcy  was  created  in 
1806,  in  favor  of  the  great  great  uncle  of  the  present  Bar- 
onet, who  succeeded  to  it  in  1865,  and  resides  at  High 
Elms,  near  Farnborough,  in  Kent,  on  an  estate  of  some 
thirteen  hundred  acres,  purchased  by  his  grandfather.  Sir 
John  is  a  partner  in  the  London  bank  with  which  his  family 
has  been  connected  for  several  generations,  the  business 
having  been  commenced  in  1772. 

He  was  initiated  into  his  business  career  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  leaving  Eton  in  1848,  and  being  taken  into  the 
banking-house,  where  his  father  had  no  working  partner. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Frances 

*  Mr.  Conway  in  Harper's  Monthly,  February,  1875. 


SIR    JOHN    LUBBOCK.  73 

Horden,  daughter  of  a  clergyman,  and  has  had  six  children, 
three  sons  and  three  daughters.  At  the  time  of  his  mar- 
riage he  was  already  eminent  as  a  banker,  not  only  by 
virtue  of  his  inheritance  but  by  the  unmistakeable  busi- 
ness talent  he  brought  to  its  discharge.  He  has  written 
on  finance  with  the  same  clear  insight,  power  of  investi- 
gation and  comprehension  of  details,  which  are  character- 
istic of  his  scientific  inquiries  and  writings.  He  has  been 
for  some  years  honorary  secretary  of  the  London  Bankers' 
Association,  and  is  the  author  of  many  improvements, 
chief  among  which  is  that  of  the  "  Country  Clearing " 
system,  whereby  provincial  transactions  are  greatly  facili- 
tated. 

He  also  organized  a  method  of  examinations  for  clerks, 
conducted  by  the  City  of  London  College,  for  the  bankers, 
merchants,  and  joint-stock  companies,  in  the  same  manner 
as  those  instituted  by  the  Government  under  the  Civil 
Ser\nce  Commissioners.  Instances  might  be  named  in 
which  boys  of  very  humble  parentage,  educated  in  a  sim- 
ple English  School,  have  been  enabled,  by  this  means,  to 
obtain  employment  in  the  bank  of  Sir  John  Lubbock  him- 
self. 

Sir  John  Lubbock's  reputation  as  a  banker  and  a  poli- 
tician, though  eminent,  is  still  circumscribed;  but  his  position 
as  a  man  of  science  belongs  to  the  civilized  world.  In  Amer- 
ica he  is  known  chiefly  as  the  author  of  "Prehistoric  Times," 
of  the  "  Origin  of  Civilization,"  and  of  other  important  works 
in  the  same  direction.  These  books  have  been  translated 
into  several  languages,  the  first  named  being  now  published 
in  French,  German,  Swedish,  Danish  and  Russian.  Others 
have  been  widely  issued  in  the  same  way,  besides  running 
4 


74  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

through  several  editions  in  England  itself.  Sir  John  Lub- 
bock has  done  valuable  work  as  a  scientific  specialist,  having 
written  for  the  Ray  Society,  important  papers  on  the  "  Origin 
and  Metamorphoses  of  Insects,"  and  on  the  curious  gen- 
era named  "  Thysanura  "  and  "  Collembola  ;  "  while  other 
scientific  memoirs  have  been  contributed  by  him  to  the 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society,  the  Linnean,  and  other 
philosophical  associations  of  which  he  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber. Of  several  he  has  been  President,  the  Entomological 
Society,  the  Ethnological  Society,  and  the  Anthropological 
Institute ;  besides  being  Vice-President  of  the  British 
Association,  the  Royal  Society,  and  other  learned  bodies, 
both  British  and  foreign. 

His  active  political  career  begun  in  1865,  when  he  first 
stood  as  a  Liberal  candidate  for  the  Western  Division  of 
the  County  of  Kent,  in  which  he  resides.  Defeated  by  a 
small  majority,  he  stood  again  in  1868,  with  Mr.  Angerstein, 
against  Sir  Charles  Mills  and  Mr.  John  Y.  Talbot,  to  be 
once  more  unsuccessful,  though  defeated  by  only  50  ma- 
jority. He  was  soon  afterwards  elected  to  represent  the 
borough  of  Maidstone,  and  was  re-elected  in  1874.  In 
1868  he  was  asked  to  stand  for  the  University  of  London, 
an  honor  of  a  high  character,  which  he  felt  compelled  to 
decline,  because  of  promises  made  to  his  friends  in 
Kent.  He  is  now  Vice-Chancellor  of  that  University,  hav- 
ing been  elected  to  succeed  George  Grote, — ^banker,  his- 
torian, and  philosophical  republican. 

In  the  House  of  Commons  Sir  John  Lubbock's  career 
has  been  of  great  usefulness.  Classed  properly  among  the 
"Independent"  members,  he  cannot  be  counted  as  an 
"  Irreconcilable."  His  largest  work  has  been  in  the  direc- 


SIR    JOHN    LUBBOCK.  75 

tion  of  education,  and  other  matteis  in  which  lie  might 
properly  be  deemed  of  great  service. 

He  has  given  loyal  and  earnest  service  to  the  work  of 
perfecting  the  Elementary  School  Laws,  but  the  best  part 
of  his  efforts  in  this  field  have  been  in  connection  with  the 
Endowed  Schools  and  the  Royal  Commission  on  Public 
Schools,  of  which,  and  of  the  Commission  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  Sir  John  Lubbock  was  a  prominent  mem- 
ber. He  was  also  active  in  promoting  various  reforms  in 
connection  with  national  universities.  The  student  of  Eng- 
lish affairs  will  readily  bear  in  mind  the  great  abuses  which, 
it  has  been  shown,  had  crept  into  the  great  public  and  en- 
dowed schools  of  England.  Originally  designed,  in  almost 
every  instance,  to  be  accessible  to  the  poorest  boy  in  the 
realm,  they  had  grown  to  be  largely  viewed  as  instrumen- 
talities for  cheapening  education  to  the  favored  classes,  or 
sinecures  for  well-paid  teachers.  The  report  made  by  Sir 
John  Lubbock's  commission  has  largely  exposed  these 
abuses,  and  in  preparing  the  way  for  their  correction,  has 
also  indicated  a  radical  change  in  policy.  Even  under 
present  conditions  a  generation  will  hardly  elapse  before 
these  schools,  in  many  instances  so  consolidated  as  to  make 
stronger  those  that  remain,  will  form,  as  they  were  intended 
to  do,  a  complete  collegiate  link  between  the  more  elemen- 
tary and  preparatory  schools  and  the  great  universities, 
and  will  be  as  accessible  to  the  studious  poor  as  but 
recently  they  were  to  the  fortunate  rich  or  those  .vhom  they 
patronized  and  aided. 

In  other  work,  such  as  the  Bank  Holidays  Acts,  the  In- 
ternational Coinage  Commission,  the  Act  for  the  Protection 
of  Ancient  Monuments,  as  well  as  in  the  support  of  those 


76  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

measures  of  political  reform  and  economic  legislation  which 
have  come  up  during  his  parliamentarj^  career,  Sir  John 
Lubbock  has  been  active  and  prominent.  He  has  usually 
voted  with  the  most  advanced  wing  of  the  Liberal  party, 
though  not  following  the  smaller  minority  in  opposition  to 
all  Royal  grants  and  similar  measures. 

In  person  Sir  John  Lubbock  is  of  middle  height,  rather 
slender  figure,  with  fair  Anglo-Saxon  face,  features  and 
complexion.  As  a  speaker  he  is  easy  and  fluent  in  manner 
and  words,  while  as  to  matter  he  is  direct  and  weighty — 
speaking  from  a  full  mind  always.  His  political  career  bids 
fair  to  bring  returns  worthy  of  high  ambition,  and  is  certain 
to  be  full  of  honorable  service.  He  is  prominent  among 
an  increasing  class  in  British  politics — men  of  wealth,  at 
least  of  independent  means,  of  high  culture,  good  birth,  and 
eminent  intellectual  abilit)' — a  class  comprising  such  men 
as  Fawcett,  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair,  Huxley,  Frederic  Harrison, 
Thorold  Rogers,  Chamberlain,  Auberon  Herbert,  Cowen, 
Sir  Charles  Dilke,  and  others  too  numerous  now  to  name  in 
these  pages  ; — a  class  of  men  who  seem  destined  to  lead 
their  nation  through  the  peaceful  ways  of  ameliorative  re- 
forms, into  the  larger  liberties  and  ordered  equities  of  a 
practically  democratic  future. 


V. 


Joseph    Cowen. 


HIS  gentleman  represents  his  native  borough 
a  distinction  not  often  attained  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons.  Newcastle  is  an  ancient 
burg,  filled  with  a  sturdy  and  industrious  constituency, 
who  have  never  willingly  brooked  harsh  authority, 
and  have  always  been  apt  at  asserting  themselves  and 
their  rights.  Founded  by  King  William  Rufus  or  the  Red, 
— though  its  river  had  long  before  been  a  landing-place  for 
the  Romans,  the  Picts  and  the  harrying  Danes  with  whom 
Alfred  the  Great  effected  peace  by  dividing  England  with 
them, — it  afterwards  became  known  for  its  coal  mines. 
Now,  its  shipping,  commerce  and  manufactures  are  second 
only  to  its  mining  interests.  They  hold  together  one  of 
the  most  thoroughly  homogeneous  communities,  in  a  poli- 
tical sense,  that  can  be  found  in  England.  It  has  always 
been  Radical — often  turbulent,  seldom  inconsistent.  Mr. 
Cowen  is  not  only  "  native,  and  to  the  manner  born," 
identified  with  all  the  activities  of  the  place,  but,  as  the 
proprietor  and  political  director  of  the  Newcastle  Chronicle, 


78  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

is  in  a  notable  sense  its  representative.  The  fact  of  this 
proprietorship  gives  liim  a  more  than  personal  im- 
portance. Within  a  few  years  past,  the  country  or 
"  provincial"  press  of  Great  Britain  has  become  a  great 
power,  both  as  to  enterprise  and  political  importance.  Mr. 
Gladstone  recognized  this  fact  three  or  four  years  ago  in 
a  speech  made  to  his  Greenwich  constituency.  The  New- 
castle Chronicle  is  one  of  the  most  influential  of  this  class, 
and  is  especially  so  in  its  attitude  towards  all  advanced 
politics.  Its  tone  has  always  been  aggressively  Radical, 
as  much  so  when,  one  hundred  years  since,  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  and  their  action  were  the  chief  topic  of  dis- 
cussion, as  at  the  present  time  when  the  extension  of 
the  suffrage  to  the  Agricultural  Laborers,  and  the  visit  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales  to  India,  constitute  the  principal 
themes  of  debate. 

Joseph  Cowen  is  the  son  of  Sir  Joseph  Cowen,  Knight. 
He  was  born  near  Newcastle  at  Blayden  Burn  in  1831, 
and  is,  therefore,  in  his  forty-fourth  year.  His  father,  who 
represented  the  same  borough  for  many  years,  began  life 
as  an  artisan,  but  when  the  discovery  of  gas  was  being 
utilized,  he  made  a  number  of  ingenious  inventions  which 
greatly  facilitated  the  manufacture.  He  soon  grew  to  be 
a  rich  and  influential  citizen,  and  was  known  for  liberal 
views  and  public  spirit,  as  well  as  quaint  ways  and  homely 
wit.  His  eldest  son,  the  present  member,  was  carefully 
educated  near  his  birth  place,  and  then  entered  Edinburgh 
University,  graduating  with  honor  as  a  classical  and  general 
scholar.  This  University  has  always  had  a  wide  reputa- 
tion for  the  debating  societies  connected  therewith,  and  at 
these  Mr.  Cowen  took  a  leading  place,  being  distinguished 


JOSEPH    COWEN.  79 

for  readiness  in  debate  and  facility  as  a  public  speaker. 
With  the  exception  of  having  acquired  during  his  (twenty 
years,)  later  mingling  with  the  Northumbrian  people,  some- 
thing of  their  deep  and  not  unmusical  pronunciation,  Mr. 
Cowen  has  already  shown  in  the  House  that  his  ability  as 
a  debater  has  not  diminished  by  comparative  disuse. 

A  friendly  writer  and  evidently  an  admirer,  thus  writes 
of  Mr.  Cowen's  political  life  : — 

"In  1848  Mr.  Cowen  began  to  distinguish  himself  in 
connection  with  those  public  movements  which  sought 
that  extension  of  the  franchise  Pitt  meditated  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  In  this  course  he  followed  faith- 
fully the  footsteps  of  his  father,  who  had  been  a  Radical 
in  days  when  Radicalism  involved  something  bordering  on 
social  proscription.  Sir  Joseph  Cowen  formed  one  of  the 
intrepid  band  of  North  country  reformers  who  met  on  New- 
castle Moor  to  protest  against  the  Peterloo  massacre.  To 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  idealist,  Mr.  Cowen  unites  a  sagacious 
common  sense  which  the  sternest  realist  might  envy.  This 
combination  of  faculties  gives  to  his  nature  that  equipoise 
which  is  necessary  for  practical  statesmanship.  With  the 
deepest  sympathy,  and  the  most  generous  consideration  for 
erratic  politicians,  Mr.  Cowen  has  never  shared  their  illu- 
sions. When  the  Crimean  war  arose,  the  member  for 
Newcastle  was  not  led  astray  by  the  sentiment  with  which 
so  many  of  our  countr}'men  regarded  that  tragic  episode 
in  the  history  of  Europe.  On  the  contrary,  he  belonged 
to  a  school  of  politicians  who  conceived  the  war  a  mistake. 
The  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  with  which  he  was  con- 
spicuously associated,  did  what  it  could  to  unveil  the  dip- 
lomatic  intrigue  by  which  we  had  drifted  into  that  in- 


8o  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

glorious,  ev'en  if  triumphant,  campaign.  Almost  contem- 
poraneous with  the  close  of  the  conflict,  the  Northern  Re- 
form Union  was  called  into  existence,  and  of  that  union 
Mr.  Cowen  became  the  treasurer.  The  work  done  by  this 
association  was  enormous,  and  of  that  work  Mr.  Cowen 
was  the  animating  spirit.  At  once  by  tongue,  and  pen, 
and  purse,  he  contributed  to  arouse  the  North  from  the 
political  indifference  into  which  the  country  had  unhappily 
sunk.  The  success  which  this  devotion  achieved  was  at- 
tested by  the  political  enthusiasm  it  evoked.  When  the 
Reform  agitation  —  so  long  the  mere  stalking-horse  of 
ofificial  statesmen — had  reality  breathed  into  it  in  govern- 
mental circles  by  the  earnestness  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  no- 
where was  that  earnestness  more  powerfully  seconded 
than  in  Northumberland.  The  political  demonstrations  of 
1866  and  1867  which  took  place  in  Newcastle  are  among 
the  most  memorable  events  in  the  public  history  of  that 
epoch.  The  important  part  Mr.  Covven's  energy  and 
organizing  power  played  in  these  demonstrations  is  known 
to  all  who  know  Northumbrian  politics.  At  the  present 
moment  the  member  for  Newcastle  is  president  of  a 
League  which  is  directing  its  energies  to  securing  that  as- 
similation of  the  county  and  borough  franchise  and  equali- 
zation of  electoral  districts,  of  which  the  late  Earl  Durham 
was  so  conspicuous  an  advocate.  As  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  Anti-State-Church  Association,  and  of  the 
Execiitive  of  the  Birmingham  League,  Mr.  Cowen  has  done 
good  service  to  the  causes  represented  by  these  organiza- 
tions. 

"  Some  time  ago  Mr.  Disraeli  said  our  position  would 
be  improved  by  '  a  little  less  activity  at  home  and  a  little 


JOSEPH   COWEN.  8l 

more  activity  abroad.'  We  doubt  if,  in  the  sense  the 
Premier  meant  these  wonis  to  be  understood,  Mr.  Cowen 
would  endorse  either  proposition.  His  activity  at  home  is 
known  and  read  of  all  men,  and  he  is  not  the  friend  of 
that  intermeddling  foreign  policy  which  has  so  often 
rendered  England  odious  to  Continental  Europe.  Never- 
theless, no  man  has  been  more  distinguished  for  the 
operative  sympathy  which  he  has  shown  for  the  leaders  in 
the  great  struggles  that  have  done  so  much  to  transform 
the  political  institutions  of  the  Continent.  To  Poland,  to 
Hungary,  to  Italy,  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  important 
friends  these  countries  ever  found  in  England.  With 
Kossuth,  with  Mazzini,  with  Garibaldi,  Mr.  Cowen  was  on 
terms  of  the  closest  intimacy,  and  towards  the  illustrious 
triumvirate  he  has  ever  entertained  an  appreciation  worthy 
of  their  characters.  The  last  letter  Mazzini  wrote  was 
written  to  Mr.  Cowen,  and  one  of  the  first  in  which  Gari- 
baldi broached  his  scheme  for  the  regeneration  of  the 
Campagna  came  to  the  member  for  Newcastle." 

Mr.  Cowen  possesses  a  character  so  calm  and  generous, 
that  his  friends  are  enthusiasts  over  him,  and  the  feelings 
he  arouses  are  attachments,  not  admirations  only.  When 
General  Garibaldi  was  in  England  just  before  the  British 
Legion  was  formed,  he  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Cowen,  who 
also  presented  him  with  a  sword  of  honor  subscribed  for 
by  his  admirers.  The  crowning  friendship  of  this  period, 
Mr.  Cowen  considers  to  be  his  intimate  and  affectionate 
relations  with  Joseph  Mazzini.  The  Italian  publicist  and 
republican  has  left  behind  him  a  small  but  influential  body 
of  Englishmen,  over  whose  intellectual  lives  and  opinions 
his  own  views  were  almost  paramount.  Peter  A.  Taylor, 
4*  6 


82  BRIEF   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mr.  Stansfield,  Joseph  Cowen,  William  J.  Linton,  the  well- 
known  wood  engraver  and  writer  (for  forty  years  the  fore- 
most republican  worker  and  thinker  in  England),  are 
among  the  better  known  of  this  school.  These  associa- 
tions give  the  Member  for  Newcastle  a  knowledge  of  Eu- 
ropean politics  from  the  stand-point  of  republican  endeav- 
or which  is  rare  in  Parliament  at  present,  and  is  only 
equalled  by  that  possessed  by  Peter  A.  Taylor,  the  mem- 
ber for  Leicester. 

Mr.  Cowen  has  served  for  several  years  as  a  member 
of  the  Newcastle  Town  Council,  and,  as  may  be  inferred, 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  all  local  movements  of  a  worthy 
character.  "Previous  to  entering  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, he  was  repeatedly  solicited  to  allow  himself  to  be 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  Parliamentary  honors. 
These  solicitations,  however,  were  invariably  declined;  but 
on  the  death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  rather  suddenly 
towards  the  close  of  1873,  he  was  practically  compelled  to 
stand  for  Newcastle.  Scarcely  had  he  been  elected  as  the 
successor  of  his  sire  in  the  representation  of  that  ancient 
town  ere  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  took  place,  and  Mr. 
Cowen  was  again  plunged  into  all  the  turmoil  of  a  contest- 
ed election."  In  this  contest  his  energy  and  eloquence 
were  so  marked  and  exercised  so  large  an  influence,  as  to 
attract  national  attention  to  his  canvass.  Long  before, 
political  managers  on  all  sides  had  been  compelled  to  take 
note  of  the  movements  of  the  great  mining  population,  of 
which  Newcastle  is  the  centre.  A  community  which  could 
gather  at  short  notice  and  in  peaceful  order,  demonstra- 
tions numbering  from  twenty-five  thousand  to  double  that 
number,  was  one  not  to  be  lightly  left  unregarded  by  a 


JOSEPH    COWEN.  8 


o 


governing  class  or  classes,  whose  leaders  make  it  the  study 
of  their  political  lives  to  ascertain  how  little  they  can  give 
and  how  much  they  may  withhold.  Mr.  Cowen  has  al- 
ready shown  himself  to  possess  a  commanding  influence 
with  this  population.  This  gives  him  in  the  House  an  inj- 
portant  position.  Of  his  oratorical  capacity,  the  "  Beehive  ' ' 
biographer  thus  writes  : — 

"  It  is  said  of  one  of  the  most  accomplished  of  English 
actresses — a  lady  with  quite  a  genius  for  her  profession — • 
that  when  satisfied  of  thoroughly  comprehending  what  she 
meant  to  act,  she  never  troubled  herself  further,  assured 
that  all  else  might  be  left  to  natural  and  spontaneous  im- 
pulse. Something  akin  to  this  feeling  is  at  the  root  of  Mr. 
Cowen's  oratorical  success.  A  perfect  comprehension  of 
great  political  questions  by  an  earnest  and  capable  man 
unlocks  the  fountains  of  sensibility,  and  exercises  over  an 
audience  that  mesmeric  influence  which  constitutes  the 
triumph  of  eloquence.  Few  men  have  entered  the  House 
of  Commons  in  recent  years  who  possess  a  more  thorough 
comprehension  alike  of  English  and  European  politics, 
who  have  greater  capacity  for  work,  greater  sympathy  for 
the  people,  or  a  more  intelligent  appreciation  of  those  in- 
dustrial and  political  problems  with  the  just  solution  of 
which  the  weal  of  England  is  indissolubly  associated. 
Prediction  is  proverbially  dangerous,  but  with  the  vigor  of 
earlier  years  restored,  there  is  really  no  political  position 
to  which,  should  the  emergency  arise,  Mr.  Cowen  may  not 
only  adequately  but  honorably  fill.  His  parliamentary 
career  has  been  yet  too  brief  fully  to  disclose  his  powers. 
During  the  greater  portion  of  last  session  he  was  laid 
aside  from  duty  by  illness,  precipitated  by  overwork.    The 


84  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

moment,  however,  that  he  had  sufficiently  recovered,  he 
devoted  himself  to  Parliamentary  duty  with  characteristic 
assiduity.  Throughout  the  present  session  his  attendance 
has  been  unflagging,  his  name  appearing  in  nearly  every 
division.  To  all  questions  connected  with  the  social  wel- 
fare of  the  people  he  has  given  the  closest  attention.  His 
speech  on  the  Friendly  Societies  Bill  was,  in  many  respects, 
the  best  delivered  on  the  subject ;  and  as  a  vindication  of 
the  people  from  charges  too  frequently  hurled  against 
them,  it  was  pre-eminently  successful.  As  a  business  man, 
Mr.  Cowen's  skill,  integrity,  and  sagacity  are  universally 
recognized.  The  importance  of  this  fact  can  scarcely  be 
overrated  in  a  country  where  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
achieve  the  highest  political  success  without  a  practical 
knowledge  of  commercial  questions.  Mr.  Cowen  married 
early.  His  wife  is  the  daughter  of  John  Thomson,  Esq., 
Fatfield.     His  family  consists  of  a  daughter  and  son." 

During  the  session  of  1875,  Mr.  Cowen  participated  in 
several  debates — relating  to  the  County  Suffrage  Exten- 
sion, the  act  relating  to  Labor  combinations  and  disputes, 
the  proposition  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  royal  trip  to 
India,  and  that  arising  from  Mr.  Plimsoll's  bill  and  agita- 
tion for  the  better  protection  of  seamen.  In  the  latter  dis- 
cussion, as  the  representative  of  a  great  shipping  mart,  his 
vote  and  words  were  influential.  It  is  clear  that  Mr, 
Joseph  Cowen's  public  career,  so  fairly  begun,  with  ample 
background  of  preparation  behind  it,  has  a  long  foreground 
over  which  to  advance  with  increasing  usefulness.  He 
has  a  happy  home,  two  fine  children,  and  that  guarantee  of 
happiness  which  lies  in  the  confidence  of  friends  and  neigh- 
bors.    His  exertions  have  not  been  confined  to  political 


JOSEPH    COWEN.  85 

eflforts  only,  but  in  all  movements,  such  as  co-operation, 
arbitration,  temperance,  education,  he  has  been  a  friendly 
counsellor  and  active  advocate.  The  same  admiring  writer 
closes  the  sketch,  before  quoted,  with  words  which  those 
who  know  Mr.  Cowen  best  do  not  regard  as  o\erdrawn  : 
"Though  yet  only  in  the  meridian  of  life,  he  has  crowded 
into  that  life  an  amount  of  work  which  very  many  who 
have  reached  the  allotted  span  of  existence  have  failed  to 
achieve.  With  ample  resources  Mr.  Cowen  shuns  the  pleas- 
ures of  sense,  having  early  learned  to  '  scorn  delights  and 
live  laborious  days.'  Alike  in  purity,  elevation,  and  devo- 
tion of  character,  and  breadth  of  sympathy,  Joseph  Cowen 
is  an  example  to  the  age  in  which  his  lot  is  cast." 


VI. 

Robert  Meek  Carter. 


fMOXG  the  eighteen  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons who  voted  against  the  recent  appropriation  of 

I,  ^60,  ooo  from  the  Imperial  treasury  towards  defray- 
ing the  larger  portion  of  the  expenses  of  the  East  Indian  jour- 
ney of  His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales,  was  the  senior 
member  for  the  important  borough  of  Leeds,  Yorkshire.  In 
English  politics  that  vote  probably  places  Mr.  Carter  among 
the  "  Irreconcilables  " — certainly  it  ranks  him  with  those  who 
are  classified  as  "  Independents."  It  required  a  considerable 
amount  of  political  devotion,  or  the  courage  which  comes 
from  the  consciousness  of  having  behind  the  vote  a  constitu- 
ency who  will  not  only  sustain  the  member  but  endorse  the 
act.  Such  a  vote  requires  almost  as  much  moral  force  or 
"fanaticism  "  on  the  part  of  the  British  member,  as  it  did  ten 
years  before  the  secession  civil  war  for  a  northern  represen- 
tative to  vote  against  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  in  an  Amer- 
can  Congress.  The  vote  and  the  popular  excitement 
attending  it  marks  one  of  the  steps  in  English  politics,  from 
which  in  the  future  the  critic,  student  and  statesmaa  will 
date  marked  results.     Moncure  D.  Conwav  writes  as  fob 


ROBERT    MEEK    CARTER.  87 

lows  in  relation  to  these  demonstrations,  and  especially  that 
held  in  Hyde  Park,  which  seems  to  have  been  most 
foriiiidable  : 

"  All  the  bright  sunshine — which  some  authorities  have 
suggested  was  diabolically  manufactured — and  the  luxuri- 
ant verdure  of  the  park  could  not  make  the  scene  idyllic.  It 
is  the  most  angry,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  calm  and 
orderly  popular  demonstration  which  has  occurred  in  Lon- 
don during  the  fourteen  years  in  which  I  have  resided  here. 
Strange  to  say,  the  Provincial  papers  are  coming  in  bring- 
ing telegrams  sent  to  them  from  London  on  Sunday  night, 
saying  that  the  Hyde  Park  meeting  had  ended  in  a  riot, 
and  that  the  military  had  been  called  out.  These  distant 
journals  passed  the  London  papers  on  their  way,  which  will 
make  them  aware  that  they  have  been  hoaxed.  ***  The  sim- 
ple truth  is  that  it  was  the  very  largest  meeting  ever  held 
in  London.  No  one  wishing  to  state  the  truth  could  pos- 
sibly estimate  it  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  people,  and 
my  own  belief  is  that  there  were  at  least  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  present.  The  papers  attempt  to  convey  the 
impression  that  even  the  numbers,  as  diminished  by  them, 
were  made  up  to  a  large  extent  by  the  habitual  loungers  in 
the  park  ;  but  the  brightest  Sunday  does  not  usually  show 
in  the  park  a  thousand  people."  ***** 

"  There  was  a  considerable  number  of  peers,  and  also 
of  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  standing  in  the 
crowd,  within  easy  ear-shot  of  the  speaker,  and  they  have 
certainly  not  heard  any  speech  in  either  of  their  Houses 
this  session  so  eloquent  as  that  of  Bradlaugh  on  the  pres- 
ent occasion." 

"  The  multitude,"  continued  Mr.    Conway,   "  cheered 


88  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

only  the  boldest  portions  of  the  orator's  utterances.     One 
of   those   manifestations  occurred  when  Bradlaugh  cried, 
'  This  Prince  of  Wales,  for  whom  our  money  is  spent,  is  no 
Prince  of  ours  ;  he  is  Prince  of  the  wealthy  classes,'     The 
other  instance  was  when  he  said.     '  If  these  great  popular 
meetings,  and  their  protests  against  the  diversions  of  pub- 
lic moneys  to  Princes,  continue  to  be  despised  by  Parlia- 
ment, on  the  next  occasion  when  a  grant  is  proposed  to  a 
Prince,  we  will  carry  our  petition  and  our  protest  ourselves 
into   Westminster  Hall.'     This  was   followed  by   several 
minutes  of  uproarious  unanimous  approval.     While  Brad- 
laugh  was  speaking,  six  telegrams  were  brought  at  dififerent 
times  and  handed  to  him  by  official  messengers.     Each  was 
addressed  to  '  Charles  Bradlaugh,  Esq.,  Hyde  Park.'     Each 
was  from  some  large  city,  where  a  similar  mass  meeting 
was  being  held  at  the  same  hour,  and  they  announced  the 
passing  in  the  six  cities  of  resolutions  protesting  against 
the  grant  to  the  Prince.     In  one  week  there  have  been 
held  in  the  country  forty  vast  meetings  of  the  same  charac- 
ter.    It  had  been  announced  that  a  meeting  of  the  Durham 
miners,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  carrying  to  their  meetings 
the  portraits  of  popular  leaders  as  flags,   the  portrait  of 
John  Bright — who  has  kindled  great  displeasure  by  even  his 
qualified  approval  of  the  grant  to  the  Prince — was  carried 
in  procession  hung  with  crape.     Bradlaugh  having  men- 
tioned Bright's  name,  some  present  were  inclined  to  hiss, 
but  the  orator  quickly  raised   his  hand  to  hush   such,  and 
said  solemnly,  '  His  name  is  now  to  be  received  with  re- 
gret, but  not  with  anger ;  he  has  done  the  people  great  ser- 
vices ;  and  no  crape  is  so  mournful  as  that  speech  with 
which  he  himself  has  obscured  an  honored  name.'  " 


ROBERT    MEEK    CARTER.  89 

When  the  meeting  closed, — which  it  did,  writes  Mr.  Con- 
wa} ,  without  disorder, — the  orator,  escorted  by  the  marshals 
and  their  depifties,  went  through  the  Park  and  left  in  a  cab, 
driving  away  amid  loud  cheers.       Mr.   Conway  writes — 

"And  so  ended  a  meeting  whose  significance  I  have 
certainly  not  overestimated.  Royalty  in  England  cannot 
stand  many  more  such  gatherings  of  indignation :  and  I 
am  confidant  that  the  chances  of  future  appropriations 
of  the  people's  money  by  the  'Ring'  of  princelings  which 
has  so  long  fed  on  the  English  Exchequer  have  been  con- 
siderably diminished  by  the  proceedings  of  Sunday  last."  * 

These  facts  show  the  importance  to  be  attached  to  the 
opposition  indicated  by  the  eighteen  noes,  and  the  out  of 
doors  demonstrations.  The  men  who  hold  them  are  all 
voters  and  can  make  themselves  felt.  Mr.  Carter's  vote 
was  endorsed  by  a  very  large  meeting  in  his  own  borough, 
attended  by  about  150,000  persons  and  presided  over  by  a 
prominent  alderman  of  the  place. 

This  vote  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the  opinions  of  a 
gentleman  who  is  recognised  as  one  of  the  strongest  among 
the  provincial  radical  leaders  in  Great  Britain ;  as 
well  as  a  practical  and  careful  business  member  and  citi- 
zen. Robert  Meek  Carter  was  born  poor,  the  son  of  a 
peasant,  and  is  now  wealthy.  Unlike  many  others  whose 
lives  can  be  summed  up  in  the  same  way,  the  opinions  of  his 
earlier  manhood,  formed  when  struggling  in  sympathy 
with  his  conditions  and  associates,  have  matured  and 
grown  with  his  prosperity,  animating  his  public  career  and 
shaping  its  actions.  His  life  is  one  of  marked  activities 
and  great  usefulness. 

*  Cincinnati  Cotnviercial'' s  London  Letter,  July  20,  1875. 


90  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mr.  Carter  is  now  in  his  sixty-first  year,  having  been 
born  in  1814  at  the  hamlet  of  Sheffling,  near  Spun  Head 
in  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire.  His  fatlier  was  at  that 
time  successfully  cultivating  a  small  farm,  but  became  in- 
volved at  the  close  of  the  European  war  and  was  compelled 
to  abandon  his  occupation.  For  five  or  six  years  he  work- 
ed as  a  laborer,  and  then  recommenced  business  as  a  com- 
mon carrier,  between  the  Yorkshire  towns  of  Hull  and  Bur- 
lington. At  an  early  age  Robert  accompanied  and  assist- 
ed his  father,  living  two  nights  of  each  week  in  the  car- 
.rier's  cart.  He  was  often  compelled  at  night  and  in  the 
winter  time,  to  walk  the  distance  between  the  two  towns. 
At  eight  years  of  age  he  went  to  reside  with  his  uncle,  a 
farmer.  Here  he  had  the  privilege  of  attending  school  dur- 
ing the  three  winter  months,  walking  four  miles  daily  to  and 
from  the  school  house.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  ten 
years  old,  and,  at  twelve,  Robert  began  his  active  life  as  a 
farm  hand.  He  remained  with  his  uncle  till  he  was  sixteen 
and  then  removed  to  Leeds  (in  1830)  where  he  obtained 
work  in  a  cloth  mill.  A  younger  brother  had  preceded 
him  there. 

The  borough  of  Leeds  is  the  chief  seat  of  the  woolen 
cloth  manufactory  in  England,  and  its  operative  population 
are  regarded  as  among  the  best  and  most  intelligent  of 
their  class.  Leeds  is  the  seat  of  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  profitable  co-operative  societies,  and  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful Building  and  Loan  Associations  ;  and  is  the  centre 
of  the  "  Yorkshire  Association  of  Mechanics'  Institutes," 
of  which  it  has  one  of  the  largest,  with  excellent  classes, 
lectures,  library  and  well  appointed  collection  of  models, 
etc.,  for  technical  and  industrial  art,   applied  science,  phi- 


ROBERT    MEEK    CARTER.  9 I 

losophy  and  mechanics.  The  bright  and  active  boy,  who 
now  as  a  man  represents  this  great  constituency,  took  up 
his  residence  there  just  when  the  first  impetus  was  being 
given  to  the  movements  which  during  the  past  forty  years 
have  wrought  such  great  and  beneficial  changes  in  the 
condition  of  the  laboring  people  of  Great  Britain. 

Robert  Meek  Carter's  first  employment  was  in  working 
"a  gig"  for  raising  the  nap  of  cloth.  He  and  his  brother 
roomed  together,  and  on  their  earnings  (fourteen  shillings, 
about  $3.36  per  week)  managed  to  live  quite  comfortably. 
Robert  attended  night  school,  subscribed  to  a  library,  and 
also  connected  himself  with  a  famous  local  Sunday  school 
in  Wortley,  a  suburb  of  Leeds,  which  was  held  in  a  black- 
smith's shop.  It  still  exists,  and  is  known  as  the  Zion 
School.     The  BceJiive  says  : 

"  When  only  nineteen  years  old,  he  was  placed  at  the 
'  man  side  '  of  the  '  gig '  and  received  a  man's  wages, 
viz.,  22s.  per  week.  Continuing  to  show  aptitude  for  his 
work,  he  was  raised  to  the  position  of  foreman  three  years 
afterwards,  and  held  two  or  three  different  situations  in 
this  capacity.  In  1844  the  cloth  trade  of  Leeds  was  in  a 
very  depressed  state,'  and  work  was  scarce.  This  com- 
pelled Mr.  Carter  to  seek  for  some  other  occupation.  He 
was  successful  in  obtaining  a  position  *  *  *  as  weighman. 
After  a  few  years,  Mr  Carter  conceived  the  idea  of  begin- 
ning business  on  his  own  account  as  a  coal  merchant,  and 
he  was  bold  enough  to  rent  a  yard  in  the  Calls.  Persever- 
ance and  attention  soon  brought  him  custom,  and  very 
soon  he  was  in  a  position  to  purchase  the  coal-yard  which 
he  holds  to  this  day,  in  addition  to  others. 

"  Mr.  Carter  now  took  up  his  residence  in  the  heart  of 


92  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Leeds,  and  his  business  tact  being  noticed  by  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Highway  Surveyors  and  others,  he 
was  asked  to  join  the  Board,  which  he  did.  His  hon- 
orary labors  here,  and  also  in  connection  with  Zion 
Sunday  School  (which  had  now  become  a  flourishing  in 
stitution),  brought  him  into  prominence,  and  in  the  year 
1S50  he  was  invited  by  a  number  of  ratepayers  in  Hol- 
beck  to  become  a  candidate  in  the  Radical  interest  for 
a  seat  in  the  Town  Council,  and  was  returned  unop- 
posed."* 

His  active  public  life  was  now  fairly  begun.  While 
serving  for  three  years  in  the  town  council  he  became  a 
prominent  member  of  the  various  societies  already  re- 
ferred, to,  and  of  other  associations  for  Political  and 
Social  Reform.  He  developed  ready  talent  as  a  speaker, 
was  pithy  and  direct,  but  was  most  formidable  as  an 
organizer.  A  vigorous  opposition  was  made  by  the  Whigs 
to  his  re-election  as  a  Town  Councillor,  but  he  was 
successful,  polling  the  largest  vote  that  had  been  cast  up 
to  that  date,  (1853).  He  was  re-elected  for  four  terms, 
serving  in  the  Council  for  twelve  years.  He  was  then 
elected  as  alderman  and  served  until  November  1874, 
when  he  resigned  on  account  of  the  pressure  of  his 
parliamentary  duties.  During  all  these  years  of  muni- 
cipal service,  he  came  to  be  recognized  as  the  leading 
Radical  of  both  his  town  and  section.  He  participated 
actively  in  the  Chartist  agitation,  though  opposing  the 
physical  force  demonstrations,  which  ended  so  disastrously 
for  many  of  the  most  sincere  leaders.     During  the  interest 

^  Beehive  "Portrait  Gallery,"  2d  series,  London,  1875. 


ROBERT    MEEK    CARTER.  93 

aroused  in  Garibaldi's  efforts  for  the  liberation  of  Italy, 
he  aided  by  purse  and  personal  exertions.  His  name  is 
prominent  in  the  cooperative  and  other  social-economic 
and  ameliorative  reforms,  which  have  taken  such  deep  root 
in  the  portion  of  England  of  which  he  is  a  resident. 
Leeds  possesses  two  notable  provincial  papers,  the  Mercury 
and  the  Express,  and  of  the  latter  Mr.  Carter  is  the  chief 
proprietor.  It  is  widely  circulated  and  very  influential, 
ranking  in  that  regard  next  to  the  Newcastle  Chronicle, 
owned  by  Mr.  Joseph  Cowen,  M.  P.  for  that  ancient  burgh. 
A  marked  tribute  to  the  increasing  power  of  the  country 
press  of  Great  Britain,  is  the  pecuniary  interest  which 
ambitious  politicians  are  obtaining  in  their  proprietorships. 
Mr.  Carter's  interest  in  the  Express  began  early,  however, 
when  it  was  struggling  and  required  outlaj'',  being  then  the 
organ  of  new  and  somewhat  unpopular  ideas.  The  Leeds 
Mercury  is  better  known  in  the  United  States,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  its  proprietor  and  editor,  Edward  Baines, 
Esq.,  was  prominent  in  the  West  India  Emancipation 
agitation,  and  since  then  as  an  active  member  of  the 
British  Anti-Slavery  Society.  He  wrote  profusely  and  ef- 
fectively against  American  slavery,  and  many  of  his  pa- 
pers were  republished  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Both 
papers  and  their  proprietors  were  the  active  friends  of  the 
Union  cause  and  materially  assisted  in  keeping  the  public 
sentiment  of  their  important  section  in  that  direction. 
Mr.  Baines  represented  Leeds  in  more  than  one  Par- 
liament. 

Mr.  Carter  long  since  became,  with  all  this  activity,  a 
recognized  leader  of  the  Radical  party,  and  at  the  begin- 
nine:  of  the  last  Reform  agfitation  he  was  made  the  Presi 


94  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

dent  of  the  "  Radical  Reform  League "  of  his  section, 
With  all  these  public  activities,  he  did  then  and  still  does 
conduct  large  business  enterprises.  He  is  still  largely  en- 
gaged in  the  coal  business,  has  large  interests  in  two  col- 
lieries, and  owns  and  conducts  a  cloth  finishing  mill,  which 
finishes  one-third  of  all  the  cloth  exported  to  China  from 
Great  Britain. 

A  biographical  sketch  says  of  his  later  political  career, 
that : — "  In  the  year  1866,  this  League  got  up  one  of  the 
grandest  political  demonstrations  that  ever  took  place  in 
the  country.  It  was  held  on  Woodhouse  Moor,  and  was 
attended  by  about  250,000  persons.  There  were  numerous 
platforms  erected,  and  the  whole  proceedings  were  admir- 
ably carried  out  under  Mr.  Carter's  direction.  In  the 
evening  a  great  meeting  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  under 
Mr.  Carter's  chairmanship.  The  demonstration  was  at- 
tended by  Mr.  John  Bright,  Mr.  W.  E.  Forster,  Mr. 
Leatham,  Mr.  Beales,  Mr.  Ernest  Jones,  Mr.  George  Pot- 
ter, and  others. 

"  In  1868,  the  Leeds  Radical  Reform  League  selected 
Mr.  Carter  as  their  candidate  for  the  general  election  then 
ensuing.  He  was  accepted,  along  with  Mr.  Edward  Baines, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  entire  Liberal  party,  and  was  returned 
M.P.  for  Leeds,  receiving  upwards  of  15,000  votes.  In 
the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Carter  has  pursued  a  straight- 
forward, consistent  course,  endeavoring  to  make  himself  a 
practically  useful  member,  rather  than  a  fussy,  talkative 
one.  At  the  last  general  election,  Mr.  Carter  was  again 
selected  by  the  Liberal  party  along  with  Mr.  Baines.  The 
latter,  however,  in  consequence  of  his  sectarian  education 
views  and  other  reasons,  was  defeated  ;  but  Mr.  Carter  was 


ROBERT    MEEK    CARTER.  95 

relurned  at  the  head  of  the  poll,  receiving  no  fewer  than 
15,390  votes."  * 

In  the  House  of  Commons,  though  not  a  frequent 
speaker,  he  is  one  always  listened  to,  because  that  practical 
assembly  recognizes  in  Mr.  Carter  the  fact  that  he  has 
always  something  to  say  when  he  rises  to  speak,  and  that 
he  draws  from  wide  knowledge  and  a  large  personal  expe- 
rience in  presenting  his  reasons  and  stating  the  conclusion 
he  has  reached. 

In  the  current  movements  of  the  day,  Mr.  Carter's 
position  is  logically  related  to  his  past  agitation.  His  votes, 
as  shown  by  Hansard's  reports,  have  supported  Sir  Charles 
Dilke's  propositions  with  regard  to  the  re-distribution  of 
seats,  Mr.  Dixon's  bills  for  a  National  system  of  unde- 
nominational education,  and  Mr.  Trevelyan's  measure  for 
the  Agricultural  Franchise.  He  has  voted  with  Macdon- 
ald,  Burt  and  Mundella,  on  labor  questions,  and  with  Mr. 
Peter  A.  Taylor,  in  opposition  to  Royal  grants. 

The  Beehive  writer  says  of  him — that 

"  Mr.  Carter's  success  may  be  taken  as  a  lesson  by 
ever}'  workingman,  and  by  all  who  desire  to  raise  them- 
selves in  the  social  scale.  The  positions  of  trust  and  of 
honor  which  he  has  filled,  and  now  fills,  have  come  to  him, 
not  because  he  sought  them,  but  because  he  was  worthy  to 
occupy  them.  His  industry  has  been  great,  and  his  hon- 
orary labors  extraordinary.  Yet  he  never  appeared  in  a 
fuss  nor  in  a  hurry.  His  private  virtues,  like  his  pub- 
lic ones,  are  of  the  highest  kind.  Strict  integrity  and 
purity  of  life  are  his  strong  characteristics ;    and   to   his 

*  Beehive  "  Portrait  Gallery." 


96  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

sound  advice  in  matters  of  business  and  of  finance  many  a 
man  in  Leeds  and  elsewhere  owes  much.  In  his  political 
conduct,  Mr.  Carter  acts  fairly  and  openly  with  his  oppo- 
nents. This  view  of  his  action  was  once  represented  by  one 
of  the  most  respected  of  Leeds  vicars,  who  said  of  him  : — 
'I  like  Mr.  Carter  as  an  opponent,  for  he  always  hits 
straight  out  from  the  shoulder.' " 


PART   II. 

THE    LABOR   AGITATION   AND    ITS 
FRIENDS. 


VII. 

Thomas   Hughes. 


N  tracing  the  progress  of  the  various  movements 
which  have  during  the  last  forty-five  years 
exercised  so  marked  an  influence  on  English 
affairs,  and  especially  on  the  condition,  political  and 
social,  of  the  working  masses,  the  decade  embraced 
between  1850  and  i860  is  worthy  of  especial  notice. 
So  far  as  political  agitation  was  concerned,  that  ten  years  ap- 
peared to  pass  with  but  little  more  than  a  ripple  on  the 
surface  of  feeling.  Yet  two  remarkable  forces  were  at  work, 
orfranizing  the  social  and  economic  side  of  that  Democratic 
growth,  which  is  now  so  energetically  re-occupying  the 
political  arena.  The  forces  or  movements  referred  to  are  in  a 
large  generalization,  resolved  into  but  one — and  a  writer  in 
Blackwood? s  Magazine*  thus  indicates  its  character :  "  A  new 
power  has  been  introduced  into  our  political  system,  new 
forces  are  at  work  within  the  pale  of  the  Constitution. 
The  Government  has  become  national  in  the  fullest  sense 

*  "The  State,  the  Poor,  and  the  Country."     April,  187a 


lOO  BRIEF   BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  the  word  ;  and  with  the  change  a  new  breath  of  Hfe  is 
stirring  society.  New  views  are  also  rapidly  forming  ;  new 
hopes  and  inspirations  are  entering  into  the  hearts  of  the 
masses,"  The  rule  of  the  middle-class,  adds  this  writer, 
"  has  come  to  an  end,  and  the  doctrines  which  regulated 
the  legislation  of  that  period  are  now  being  tested  and 
considered  from  a  different,  indeed  opposition  principle. 
*  *  *  For  nearly  forty  years  the  prime  object  of  our 
legislation  has  been  the  interests  of  the  consumers  ;  now, 
we  shall  soon  have  the  masses  advocating  their  own  inter- 
ests as  producers." 

Mr.  Thomas  Hughes  has  had  a  large  share  in  the  direc- 
tion of  one  of  the  two  forces  that  have  tended  to  bring  into 
prominence  the  interests  of  Production — especially  of  its 
most  important  factor,  Labor.  His  connection  with  Co-op- 
eration and  its  organization  in  Great  Britain,  is  his  highest 
title  to  that  general  esteem  to  which  he  may  now  fairly  lay 
claim.  In  1850,  the  European  reaction  was  attended  by 
a  subsidence  of  radical  agitation  in  England.  The  defeat 
of  the  State-help  movement  in  France,  as  illustrated  by  the 
failure  of  the  national  workshops,  as  well  as  of  that  of  the 
various  Labor  societies,  that  had  received  aid  from  the 
French  Republic  in  1848-9,  was  followed  in  Great  Britain 
by  a  remarkable  increase  of  Trades'  Union  strength,  and 
an  equally  vigorous  growth  of  self-help  in  the  form  of 
Co-operative  Distribution  or  Stores.  Among  the  very  earliest 
movements  in  the  direction  of  Co-operation  was  that  of  the 
society  known  as  "  Christian  Socialists,"  of  which  the  late 
Canon  Kingsley, — whose  "  Alton  Locke  "  had  become  the 
inspiration  of  every  aspiring  youth  in  the  ranks  of  Labor, 
and  had  attracted  the  minds  of  many  others  to  its  condition  ; 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  lOI 

— the  Rev.  Frederick  Uenison  Maurice,  Vansittart  Ncale, 
Mr.  Ludlow,  the  present  "Registrar  of  Friendly  Societies,"* 
the  ChevaUer  St.  Andre',  and  others,  more  or  less  widely 
known,  with  Mr.  Hughes,  were  members  of  the  Co-operative 
stores  of  Yorkshire  and  Lancashire,  which  have  since  be- 
come so  famous  as  illustrating  the  advantages  of  Co-oper- 
ation. Many  were  already  in  successful  operation,  but  they 
had  not  attracted  more  than  local  and  class  attention.  One 
of  the  first  efforts  of  the  "  Christian  Socialists  "  was  the 
organization  of  a  "  Co-operative  Tailors  Society,"  which  con- 
tinued in  existence  for  a  few  years.  Not  long  before  this 
period,  Thomas  Hood's  mournful  "  Song  of  a  Shirt "  had 
awakened  a  new  interest  in  the  condition  of  those  who  were 
poverty-cursed ;  that  interest  received  intelligent  direc- 
tion from  the  investigations  conducted  by  the  Brothers 
Mayhew,  —  first  as  the  London  Chronicle  s  "  Commis- 
sioners," and  afterwards  on  their  own  responsibility — obser- 
vations which  have  since  been  gathered  in  their  remarkable 
volumes — "  London  Labor  and  the  London  Poor."  Hence 
it  was  natural  that  the  coterie  of  philanthropists  and  thinkers 
among  whom  Mr.  Hughes  was  a  leader  should  endeavor  to 
aid  the  handicraft  which  these  investigations  showed  to  be 
in  especially  bad  condition.  Another  and  even  more 
useful  effort  was  the  organization  of  the  "Working-Men's 
College,"  of  which  Mr.  Hughes  is  now  President,  and  over 

*  Mr.  Ludlow  is  the  present  Registrar  of  Friendly  and  Benefit 
Societies,  Building  and  Loan  Associations,  Co-operation  Societies,  and 
Trades  Unions,  all  of  which  are  now  brought  under  laws  enacted  for 
their  protection  and  encouragement,  and  are  therefore  required  to  reg- 
ister at  his  office  and  render  regular  statements  of  their  business  and 
standing. 


I02  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

whicli  the  Rev.  Frederick  Denison  Maurice  *  was  so  long 
the  animating  soul — the  master  spirit.  It  still  flourishes 
and  work'.:  very  beneficially,  quietly  and  without  cant,  to  the 
end  sought — that  of  helping  laboring  men  to  help  them- 
selves to  liberal  education,  by  an  arrangement  of  hours,  fees, 
tuition,  studies,  etc.,  adapted  to  their  circumstances.  Mr. 
Hughes  graduated  in  this  school  to  the  larger  usefulness 
of  place  and  sphere  which  he  now  fills.  It  is  this  work 
which  places  him  among  the  genuine  radical  leaders  of 
England,  though  in  many  respects,  as  the  term  is  commonly 
used,  he  might  be  regarded  as  a  moderate  or  even  Con- 
servative-Liberal . 

Thomas  Hughes  is  the  second  son  of  a  country  gentle- 

*  The  friendship  between  Messrs.  Maurice  and  Hughes  is  illus- 
trated by  the  following  graceful  tribute  to  the  former,  written  to  the 
Co-operative  Congress  of  1872,  by  the  President. 

Brownlow  Fold  Mills,  Bolton,  April  2,  1872. 
Dear  Mr.  Pare : — When  I  got  home  last  night  I  heard  of  the 
death  of  Mr.  Maurice.  I  feel  that  I  should  be  quite  useless,  even  if  I 
forced  myself  to  take  part  in  the  conference  to-day  and  in  the  public 
meet'.ng.  I  am  therefore  goirg  back  home,  and  must  ask  you  to  make 
my  excuses  to  the  Congress.  They  will  remember  that  Mr.  Maurice  was 
the  president,  24  years  ago,  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Working 
Men's  Associations,  in  which  I  learnt  my  first  lessons  of  Co-operation. 
In  this,  as  in  all  other  good  work  of  the  last  40  3'ears,  he  was  a  fore- 
most thinker  and  doer.  The  first  time  I  was  ever  in  Bolton  was  with 
him,  and  Mr.  Neale,  and  other  gentlemen,  at  a  social  gathering  to 
forward  the  Co-operative  movemi-nt.  I  am  sure  the  Congress  will 
sjTnpathize  with  me,  even  if  they  do  not  feel  as  I  do  that  that  the  best 
and  wisest  Englishman  I  have  ever  known  has  left  us.  Pray  say  for 
me,  that  if  they  like  to  elect  me  again  to  serve  on  the  London  Section 
of  the  Board  I  will  gladly  serve. — Ever  yours,  most  truly, 

Thos.  Hughes. 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  IO3 

man,  John  Hughes,  Esq.,  of  Donnington  Priory,  near 
Newbern,  Berkshire.  He  was  born  October  230!,  1823, 
and  is  therefore  in  his  fifty-second  year.  At  an  early  age 
he  was  sent  to  Rugby,  then  under  the  Mastership  of  the 
famous  Dr.  Arnold,  whose  reputation  is  somewhat  merged 
for  the  rising  generation  in  that  of  his  son,  Matthew  Arnold, 
well  known  as  a  scholar  and  poet,  whose  writings  have  had 
a  not  less  marked  influence,  though  less  robust,  than  tha^ 
his  famous  father  exercised.  Dr.  Arnold  was  the  founder 
of  the  Broad  Church  movement,  of  which  Dr.  Stanley,  the 
Dean  of  Westminster,  and  Dr.  Temple,  Bishop  of  Exeter, 
are  now  the  leading  clerical  representatives,  and  Mr. 
Hughes,  himself,  one  of  the  foremost  lay  adherents. 
Mentally  and  spiritually,  Dr.  Arnold's  career  marks  an 
epoch.  From  Rugby,  Thomas  Hughes  entered  as  an  un- 
dergraduate at  Oriel  College,  Oxford.  In  1841,  he  gradu- 
ted  with  high  honors  and  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
His  Alma  Mater  has  since  conferred  on  him  that  of  Master. 
His  residence  at  the  University  was  coincident  with  the 
more  advanced  stages  of  the  Tractarian  movement,  under 
the  leadership  of  the  now  venerable  Dr.  Pusey.  Mr. 
Hughes  belonged  by  right  of  temperament  and  early  train- 
ing to  the  liberal  wing.  He  has  remained  an  earnest 
churchman,  differing  in  this  respect  from  the  majority 
of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  closely  associated 
in  politics  and  in  social  agitations.  He  entered  Lin- 
coln's Inn  in  1845,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in 
1848.  He  was  not  known  publicly  at  the  time,  though 
his  pen  had  already  become  active,  training  the  fine 
literary  talent  which  has  since  been  utilized  in  his  valuable 
and  manly  books.     "  Tom  Brown's  School-days  "  was  pub- 


I04  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

lished  in  1856 ;  its  companion  volume,  "  Scouring  the 
White  Horse,"  in  1858  ;  a  third  volume,  "Tom  Brown  at 
Oxford,"  appeared  some  years  after ;  and  an  admirable 
history  of  "Alfred  the  Great,"  in  1870.  He  is  at  present 
engaged  on  a  work  relating  to  the  English  Church.  Mr. 
Hughes  prefaces  his  history  of  "  Alfred  the  Great  "  by  an 
essay  which  is  notable  for  the  incisive  statement  it  gives 
of  his  own  views  of  "  Kingship,"  "  Democracy,"  and 
other  questions  which  are  the  problems  of  present  English 
politics.  His  definition  of  "  What  does  Democracy  mean  " 
to  the  English,  "in  these  years,"  is — "  Simply  an  equal 
chance  for  all  ;  a  fair  field  for  the  best  men,  let  them  start 
where  they  will,  to  get  to  the  front ;  a  clearance  out  of 
sham  governors,  and  of  unjust  privilege,  in  eveiy  depart- 
ment of  human  affairs.  It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated 
that  they  who  .suppose  the  bulk  of  our  people  want  less 
government  or  fear  the  man  who  can  rule  and  dare  not 
lie,  know  little  of  them.  *  *  *  They  will  go  for  com- 
pulsor}'  education,  the  organization  of  labor  (including 
therein  the  sharp  extinction  of  able-bodied  pauperism),  the 
utilization  of  public  lands,  and  other  reforms  of  an  eq-.ially 
decided  character.  That  for  these  purposes  they  desire 
more  government,  not  less  ;  will  support  with  enthusiasm 
measures,  the  very  thought  of  which  takes  away  the  breath 
and  loosens  the  knees  of  ordinary  politicians  :  will  rally  with 
loyalty  and  trustfulness  to  men  who  will  undertake  these 
things  with  courage  and  singleness  of  purpose,"  Mr. 
Hughes  proceeds  to  argue  that  true  kingship  must 
possess  the  function  of  "  sympathy  with  the  masses."  He 
is  Carlyleian  in  his  view,  plus  a  deep  and  earnest  faith  in 
the  people.     He  argues  that — "  This  is  no  age    in  which 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  IO5 

shams  or  uncniths,  whether  old  or  new,  are  likely  to  have 
a  quiet  time  or  a  long  life  of  it.  In  all  departments  of 
human  affairs,  religious,  political,  social — we  are  travelling 
fast  *  *  *  and  under  the  hand  and  guidance,  be  sure, 
of  Him  who  made  the  world,  and  is  willing  and  able  to  take 
care  of  it.  *  *  Individualism  no  doubt,  has  its  noble  side,  and 
*  every  man  for  himself,'  is  a  law  which  works  wonders;  but 
we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  under  their  action 
English  life  has  become  more  and  more  disjointed,  threat- 
ening in  some  directions  altogether  to  fall  to  pieces."  In 
the  closing  chapter  Mr.  Hughes  looks  the  political  future 
of  England  full  in  the  face  and  says  : — "  All  the  signs  of  our 
time  tell  us  that  the  day  of  the  earthly  kings  has  gone  by, 
and  the  advent  of  the  power  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  those  who  live  by  labor,  is  at  hand.  Already  a 
considerable  percentage  of  them  are  as  intelligent  as  the 
classes  above  them,  and  as  capable  of  conducting  affairs, 
and  administrating  large  interests  successfully.  *  *  In 
another  generation  that  number  will  have  increased  ten- 
fold, and  the  sovereignty  of  the  country  will  virtually  pass 
into  their  hands.  *  *  *  It  is  vain  to  blink  the  fact 
that  democracy  is  upon  us,  that  '  new  order  of  society 
which  is  to  be  founded  by  labor  for  labor,'  and  the  only 
thing  for  wise  men  to  do  is  to  look  it  in  the  face,  and  see 
how  the  short  intervening  years  may  be  used  to  the  best 
advantage."  He  adds  that  the  task  has  been  begun  and 
the  soundest  and  best  of  English  thinkers  are  "  engaged 
upon  the  great  and  inevitable  change,  whether  they  dread 
or  exult  in  the  prospect.  Thus  far,  too,  they  all  agree  that 
the  great  danger  lies  in  that  very  readiness  of  the  people 
to  act  in  great  masses,  and  to  get  rid  of  individual  and 
5* 


I06  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

personal  responsibility,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  the 
organizations  by  which  they  have  gained  and  secured  their 
present  positions."  This  is  to  be  met,  Mr.  Hughes  argues, 
by  developing  the  sense  which  he  has  indicated  as  now 
lacking — that  "of  personal  and  individual  responsibility." 
Mr.  Hughes  does  not  accept  the  extreme  views  of 
the  "  supply  and  demand  "  school  of  political  economists, 
especially  as  applied  to  the  relations  of  employers  and  em- 
ployed. His  advocacy  of  co-operation  has  led  him  a  long 
way  from  the  teachings  of  the  "  competitive  "  theory — that 
which  regards  the  human  family  as  divided  into  three 
classes, — those  who  make  and  produce ;  those  who  buy 
and  consume ;  and  those  who  pocket  the  profits  arising 
from  the  management  of  these  operations.  Mr.  Hughes 
has  a  decided  leaning  in  the  opposite  direction,  his  mental 
habit  being  tinged  with  socialism.  He  has  spoken  and 
written  at  length  on  these  matters,  though  he  has  managed 
also  to  keep  in  the  van  of  practical  ameliorative  efforts. 
Besides  the  works  named,  Mr.  Hughes  published,  in  1873, 
a  memoir  of  his  brother,  then  deceased,  of  whom  he  writes 
with  great  tenderness.  He  has  been  for  years  an  oc- 
casional correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  and  some 
of  his  letters,  written  during  the  early  Fenian  excitement 
and  the  Alabama  negotiations,  as  well  as  his  very  admir- 
able descriptions  of  the  great  University  boat  races  on  the 
Thames,  are  among  the  best  contributions  that  England 
has  furnished  for  the  American  press.  He  was  an  active 
friend  of  the  North  during  the  civil  war,  but  felt  very 
keenly  and  resented  rather  sharply,  the  severe  arraignment 
of  Great  Britain  made  by  Mr.  Sumner  in  the  American 
Senate,  during  the  session  of  1866. 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  lOJ 

Mv.  Hughes  failed  to  secure  a  re-election  to  the  present 
Parliament,  after  serving  in  three  preceding  ones.  He 
was  twice  elected  from  Lambeth,  one  of  the  Metropolitan 
l)oroughs,  and  afterwards  from  that  of  Fromc,  a  considerable 
market  town, — with  some  small  manufacturing  interests, 
principally  blankets  and  cloth, — situated  in  the  loveliest 
part  of  Somersetshire.  The  little  borough  has  always  been 
of  a  radical  tone  in  politics,  probably  in  contrast  with  the 
I'cry  views  of  the  county  electors.  Mr.  Hughes  was  an 
active  supporter  of  the  Reform  League  movement,  and 
er.tered  Parliament  as  one  of  its  leading  friends.  His  de- 
feat at  Lambeth  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  his  character.  The  borough  is  a  densely 
populated  division  of  the  Metropolis,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Thames.  It  begins  at  Westminster  Bridge,  and  the 
first  object  that  strikes  the  eye,  turning  from  the  Parlia- 
ment Houses,  with  their  wide  front  of  ornate  gothic,  to 
look  across  the  river,  is  a  venerable  pile,  standing  amid  its 
own  grounds,  and  with  the  dinginess  of  centuries  gathered 
on  its  walls.  This  is  Lambeth  Palace,  the  London  resi- 
dence of  the  English  Primate,  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury. The  upper  portion  of  the  superb  Thames  Embank- 
ment runs  in  front  of  the  Palace,  and  of  the  dingy  collection 
of  pottery  works  and  wharves  which  stretch  above  it  to 
Vauxhall  Bridge.  Lambeth  proper  comprises  probably  the 
largest  division  of  small  householders  and  stores  to  be  found 
in  the  great  cit)'.  There  are  some  large  railroad  works, 
and  shops,  but  it  is  in  general  an  aggregation  of  suburbs, 
inhabited  by  the  mechanic  and  poorer  trading  classes. 
•'  Public  houses  "  abound.  The  retailers  are  in  great  force 
Mr.    Hughes,    a   doctrinaire    on   co-operation,    which   the 


I08  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

storekeepers  regard  as  their  bane, — a  vigorous  reformer  in 
the  matter  of  false  weights  and  measures,  the  interference 
witli  which  was  a  pet  grievance, — zealous  also  as  to  adul- 
teration of  food,  etc.,  and  a  warm  supporter  of  early  closing 
and  permissive  liquor  bills, — was  not  at  all  likely  to  main- 
tain his  popularity,  after  the  success  of  the  reform  bill  had 
worn  the  edge  off  the  enfranchised  householders'  suffrage. 
Another  count  against  him  was  his  absolute  refusal  to  de- 
fray anything  but  the  necessary  election  expenses.  Hence 
it  was  not  surprising  that  he  had  to  abandon  his  second 
candidacy,  retiring  before  a  wealthy  city  man,  to  Frome, 
as  has  been  before  stated. 

His  return  to  the  House  of  Commons  is  sincerely  desired 
by  all  the  advanced  liberals,  and  as  soon  as  an  opening 
occurs  it  is  probable  that  he  will  allow  his  name  to  be  again 
presented.  His  capacity  for  work  must  be  veiy  great,  as 
he  not  only  conducts  a  large  and  profitable  chancery  prac- 
tice, but  is  a  laborious  and  faithful  worker  on  the  central  co- 
operative board,  and  a  frequent  speaker  at  co-operative  and 
other  meetings  ;  while  as  a  writer  his  pen  is  always  actively 
engaged.  He  is  now  President  of  the  College  already  men- 
tioned, and  is  one  of  Mr.  Plimsoll's  strongest  supporters,  be- 
ing Vice  President  of  the  "Plimsoll  and  Seaman's  defence 
fund,"  which  was  raised  to  defray  the  expenses  arising  from 
the  agitation  over  unseaworthy  ships.  Mr.  Hughes  is  a 
busy  member  of  the  Social  Science  Association.  He  is  also 
President  of  the  Sydenham  Crystal  Palace  Company,  and  is 
actively  engaged  as  stockholder  and  director  of  many 
co-operative  enterprises — the  scope  of  which  is  now  nota- 
bly enlarging,  until  banks,  coal  mines,  cotton  mills,  found- 
eries,  machine  shops  and    land-owning  are  embraced  by 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  IO9 

their  energies.  He  is  also  Colonel  of  the  19th  Regiment 
Middlesex  Rifle  Volunteers,  one  of  the  best  drilled  organiza- 
tions of  its  class  in  the  Metropolitan  County.  In  addition 
to  these  labors,  professional,  personal  and  public,  he  is 
frequently  called  upon  to  act  as  arbitrator  or  umpire  in 
disputes  between  employer  and  employed.  In  this  capacity 
he  is  much  respected.  Since  he  has  become  actively 
engaged  in  political  life,  Mr.  Hughes  has  twice  served  as 
a  member  of  Royal  Commissions — one  being  appointed  to 
enquire  into  the  Sheffield  outrages,  and  the  character  and 
practices  of  Trades  Unions  in  general,  while  the  other,  a  later 
body,  is  known  as  the  "  Labor  Laws  Commission."  Their 
duty  was  to  inquireinto  the  working  of  the  "Master  and  Ser- 
vants act  (1867);  the  Criminal  law  amendment  act  (187 1), 
and  finally,  the  law  of  conspiracy."  The  commission  consist- 
ed, besides  Mr.  Hughes,  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Cockburn, 
known  to  Americans  from  his  connection  with  the  Geneva 
Arbitration ;  Mr.  Russell  Gurney,  Recorder  of  London 
(also  one  of  the  Mixed  Commission  which  sat  in  Washing- 
ton for  over  a  year,  to  adjudicate  British  claims  growing 
out  of  our  civil  war),  Mr.  Justice  Smith,  Lord  Romilly, 
Messrs.  Bouverie,  Roebuck,  Goldney,  and  Macdonald. 
The  legislation  into  which  it  inquired  has  recently  been 
swept  aw^ay  almost  entirely  by  an  act  passed  during  the 
session  of  1875,  which  nearly  abolishes  the  distinction 
betw'een  offences  committed  by  workmen  as  such  and  those 
perpetrated  by  other  parties. 

Mr.  Hughes  voted  for  the  dis-establishment  of  the 
Irish  Church,  and  with  the  Gladstone  ministry  in  1870  and 
1872  in  support  of  the  Elementaiy  Education  acts.  He  is  a 
|nember  of  the   Manchester   Education  Union,  which  dif 


I  lO  BRIEF      BIOGRAPHIES. 

fers  from  the  Birmingliam  League  in  consenting  to 
denominational  or  "voluntary"  schools.  During  his  ear- 
lier Parliamentary  life  he  presented  a  bill  embodying  a 
sweeping  proposition  in  relation  to  the  Irish  Land  ques- 
tion. This  measure  and  the  speech  he  made  thereon 
were  sharply  criticised  by  the  London  Times  and  the  Pall 
Mall  Gazette.  Mr.  Hughes  in  a  brief  reply  illustrated  the 
tendency  of  his  thoughts  on  this  subject,  when  he  wrote  : 
"You  cannot  argue  as  to  the  land  as  though  it  were  any 
kind  of  personal  property.  Absolute  ownership  may  exist 
in  all  kinds  of  personal  property."  How  absolute  this  may 
be,  he  illustrated  by  supposing  that  a  man  may  throw 
unchallenged  a  bag  containing  one  thousand  guineas  into 
the  Thames.  "But,"  he  continues  "I  and  all  the  owners 
of  land  *  *  *  have  not  made  it,  and  cannot  destroy  it ;  could 
neither  have  added  to  it  nor  lessened  it  *  *  *.  All  that  has 
been  done  since  has  been  to  put  value  upon  it,  and  it  is 
this  value  we  speak  of  as  'real  property,' — 'landed  pro- 
perty.'" Opinions  such  as  these  make  him  a  consistent 
oppo-nent  of  the  Commons  Enclosure  Acts,  by  which  the 
"common,"  or  it  might  be  said  the  "public,"  land,  has  for 
a  number  of  years  past  been  gradually  encroached  upon, 
fenced  in,  and  made  private  property.  This  system  of 
monopolization  has  been  going  on  very  steadily  and  creates 
great  discontent.  The  English  common  lands  "are  the 
remaining  proofs  of  the  old  British  and  Saxon  commune  or 
common  ownership.  The  feudal  system  which  the  Norman 
Conquest  perfected,  if  not  introduced,  placed  the  land  in 
the  hands  of  a  comparatively  few  families.  The  commons 
were  however  numerous  up  to  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
The  people — laborers  and  freeholders,  lords  of  the  manor 


THOMAS    IIUGHi:S.  I  1  I 

and  the  farmers,  with  the  parish  clergymen,  all  possess 
certain  rigiits,  such  as  that  of  pasturing  cows,  etc.,  on  these 
commons. 

The  laborer's  rights  are  often  a  sham  and  are  now  fast  be- 
coming a  fiction.  The  enclosure  acts,  generally  divided 
the  land  among  the  abutting  freeholders,  usually  giving  it, 
however,  to  but  one  landowner,  possessing  manorial  rights. 
This  question  is  a  prominent  one  in  the  Agricultural  Labor- 
ers' Agitation.  Mr.  Hughes's  legal  skill,  as  well  as  parliamen- 
tary efforts,  have  both  been  used  in  opposition  to  the  land 
greed  referred  to.  He  expressed  his  sympathy  with  the 
Laborers'  Agitation  early  in  its  progress. 

But  the  chief  work  of  Mr.  Hughes'  public  and  personal 
career,  is  the  service  he  has  rendered,  and  the  labor  and 
ability  he  has-  given  to  the  Co-operative  movement.  It  may 
fairly  be  claimed  for  him,  that  to  his  wise  counsel  and  as- 
sistance— he  himself  would  disclaim  the  word  leadership 
in  such  connection — is  due  a  very  large  share  of  its  na- 
tional character, — it  might  even  be  said,  international 
recognition  ;  while  his  advocacy  and  exposition  have  been 
marked  with  a  thoroughly  comprehensive  spirit.  His 
mind  has  linked  the  savings  of  the  poor  man's  pence  for 
the  poor  man's  own  benefit,  with  the  loftiest  ideals  of 
social  regeneration,  through  its  large  recognition  of  the 
idea  of  spiritual  brotherhood,  as  well  as  practical  sagacity, 
which  dwells  in  the  philosophy  and  practice  of  genuine  co- 
operation or  association.  Yet  he  has  been  pre-eminently 
practical  in  his  connection  with  the  whole  of  this  remark- 
able eiifort.  He,  with  Mr.  Ludlow,  has  been  the  legal  ad- 
visor of  the  several  societies,  and  the  one  or  the  other  has 
drafted  nearly  all  the  acts  which  have  been   passed  to  se- 


112  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

cure  their  funds,  and  encourage  their  formation.  Until 
within  a  brief  period,  these  societies  could  own  no  land, 
could  not  own  or  mine  coal  lands,  nor  could  they  do  a 
banking  business.  For  several  years  they  were  compelled 
to  pay  income  tax,  a  manifestly  unjust  ruling,  as  their 
profits  were  not  incomes  in  the  sense  that  is  understood 
by  those  who  are  blessed  with  such  conveniences.  Their 
assets  or  profits  are,  in  fact,  trust  funds,  to  be  distributed 
among  shareholders  and  customers.  At  present  these  so- 
cieties return  the  amounts  paid  to  their  several  members, 
so  as  to  enable  the  Income  Tax  Commissioners  to  ascer- 
tain whether  any  of  them  possess  more  than  ;^ioo  per  an- 
num from  this  and  other  resources.  Under  the  law  no 
individual  can  own  shares  in  any  one  of  the  registered  co- 
operative societies  to  a  larger  amount  than  £  200.  By  a 
parliamentary'  Return,  obtained  on  motion  of  Mr.  Cowen,the 
member  for  Newcastle,  there  were  in  England  and  Wales, 
at  the  close  of  1874,  "  790  societies,  and  the  amount  insured 
was  ;^i,657,78i.  There  were  340,930  members.  The 
share  capital  at  the  end  of  1873  was  ;^i3, 334,104  and  the 
loan  capital  ^431,808.  The  trade  accounts  show  that  the 
cash  paid  for  goods  in  the  year  was  ^12,344,780;  the  cash 
received  for  goods,  ;^i3, 65 1,127  i  and  the  average  stock-in- 
trade  during  the  period,  ;^i,439,i37.  The  total  expenses,  in 
the  year  were  ;^54i,284,  while  the  interest  on  share,  loan, 
and  other  capital  was  ;^i52,596.  With  respect  to  liabili- 
ties and  assets,  it  appears  that  in  England  and  Wales,  the 
liabilities  were  ^4,681,512;  the  reserve  fund  ;^83,i49  ; 
and  the  entire  assets,  ^4,430,  334;  the  value  of  buildings, 
fixtures  and  land,  ^^"1,361,  197  ;  capital  invested  with  other 
industrial  and  provident  societies,  ;^337,8i  i  ;  and  ^443,724 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  I  I  3 

irvcsleJ  with  companies  incorporated  under  the  Com- 
panies' Act.  The  net  profits  in  the  year  were  as  follows  : — 
Disposable  net  profits  realized  from  all  sources  during 
the  year,  ;^958,72i  ;  dividends  declared  due  to  members, 
;^86i,964;  dividends  allowed  to  non-members,  ;^i8,555  ; 
and  the  amount  allowed  in  the  year  for  educational  pur- 
poses, ^6,864."  Besides  the  co-operative  stores,  there  are 
a  large  number  of  joint-stock  operative  factories  and 
workshops,  cotton  mills,  and  foundries.  In  Oldham  alone 
there  are  about  thirty  cotton  mills  owned  by  the  workmen 
themselves,  with  a  capital  of  about  ;{^i, 400,000,  which  will 
represent  a  million  and  a  half  of  spindles,  or  nearly  one- 
fifth  as  many  as  are  in  operation  in  the  United  States. 
Other  works  are  being  established  in  connection  with  this 
remarkable  growth  of  the  idea  of  uniting  Labor  and  Capital 
in  the  same  hands.  Mr.  Hughes  has  been  not  only  a 
faithful  friend,  but  a  bold  and  independent  critic  of  his 
favorite  cause  and  its  operations.  Addressing  the  Fourth 
Annual  Co-operative  Congress,  held  at  Bolton,  1872,  of 
which  he  was  President,  he  referred  to  the  need  of  some 
one's  being  paid  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  the  business 
of  the  Central  Board,  and  protested  against  the  narrow 
economy  displayed  in  refusing  to  employ  a  secretary  ;  and, 
alluding  to  the  hearty  devotion  of  some  of  the  friends  of 
the  movement,  used  the  following  language : 

"  '  Why  try  to  hold  the  movement  together  at  all  ?  Why  not  let 
it  slide  and  find  its  own  level  ?'  Well,  gentlemen,  I  have  often  been 
asked  that  question,  and  I  have  more  frequently  asked  it  of  myself. 
And  I  will  own  that  I  have  sometimes  had  great  doubts  as  to  the 
answer.  Some  of  us  have  spent  time  which  would  amount  to  many 
years  of  our  lives  if  added  up,  and  not  inconsiderable  sums  of  monftw, 
in  preaching  and  fostering  this  Co-operative  movement.     Amorgol 

8 


114  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

your  northern  associations,  several  old  friends  of  mine  and  yours  have 
killed  themselves,  without  any  earthly  reward,  at  this  work.  Now, 
one  can  understand  well  enough  why  men  should  do  this  for  a  faith,  if 
in  our  good  old  English  they  have  got  any  kind  of  Gospel  or  good 
news  to  tell  their  fellows.  But  we  are  told  that  the  Co-operative 
movement  is  nothing  whatever  but  a  method  of  doing  ordinary  bus- 
iness which  will,  if  successful,  distribute  the  products  of  industry  of 
all  kinds  more  equally,  and  amongst  a  far  larger  number  of  people 
than  they  reach  under  the  old  competitive  system — that  it  is  only 
another  form  of  buying  in  the  cheapest  and  selling  in  the  dearest 
markets — resting  absolutely  on  those  two  old  pillars  of  the  Temple  of 
Mammon,  and  the  less  said  about  morality  in  connection  with  it  the 
better.  I  have  sometimes  been  inclined  to  think,  while  watching  the 
development  of  our  societies,  that  these  critics  were,  perhaps,  right 
after  all,  and  that  I  and  cithers  had  made  fools  of  ourselves,  and  should 
have  been  certainly  richer,  and  probably  wiser,  men,  if  we  had  just  let 
the  whole  thing  alone,  and  been  content  with  getting  our  groceries  and 
provisions,  if  we  cared  to  do  so,  at  wholesale  prices.  But .  such  cold 
fits  have  never  lasted  long.  It  is  impossible  for  any  man  with  eyes  in 
Ais  head  and  a  heart  in  his  breast,  not  to  have  seen,  even  in  the  dark- 
est times,  what  an  educational  power  of  the  highest  kind  lies  under 
this  Co-operative  movement  for  the  great  masses  of  our  people.  It 
has  already  done  more,  I  venture  to  say,  than  any  other  religious 
or  social  movement  of  our  day.  Not  even  the  most  blind  of  our 
opponents  can  deny  that  it  has  made  hundreds  of  thousands  of  our 
people  more  prudent  and  temperate,  has  developed  in  them  great 
capacities  for  transacting  their  own  business,  and  has  made  them 
con£cious  in  some  dim  way  of  that  highest  mystery  of  our  human 
life,  which  can  only  be  adequately  described  in  words  with  which  I 
hope  all  of  us  are  familiar,  that  we  are  members  one  of  another,  so 
that  if  one  member  suffers,  all  suffer,  and  if  one  member  rejoices,  alj 
rejoice."  * 

The   scope   and  character  of  the   Co-operative  move- 
ment, as  it  has  been  advocated  by  Mr.  Hughes  especially, 

*  Report  of  the  Fourth  Annual  Co-operative  Congress,  edited  by 
G.  T.  Holyoake,  Manchester. 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  I  I  5 

can    hardly  be   more   admirably  put  than   in   the    closing 
words  of  the  same  address  : — 

"  The  agitators  for  violent  political  changes,  for  republicanism, 
tbe  re-distribution  of  proi^erty,  the  nationalization  ot  land,  can  scarcely 
conceal  their  contempt  and  aversion  for  bodies  which  ignore  party 
politics,  and  are  peacefully  acquiring  their  fair  share  of  property  and 
land  by  the  exercise  of  the  silent  virtues  of  temperance,  forethought, 
just  dealing,  and  fellowship  in  work.  Well,  we  must  be  content  to 
suffer  their  contempt,  for  with  their  methods  and  aims  we  have  nothing 
in  common.  Extreme  free-traders  say  that  we  are  bringing  back  the 
evils  of  protection,  and  call  us  '  Socialists.'  If  they  mean  that  we 
accuse  unlimited  competition  of  having  been  the  cause  of  much  of  the 
fraud,  adulteration,  and  rascality,  which  has  so  deeply  tainted  trade 
and  commerce,  we  admit  the  fact.  That  is  our  belief;  but  we  ask  no 
protection  against  these  evils  from  any  quarter,  and  have  already 
proved  that  we  can  protect  ourselves.  In  the  same  way  we  cannot 
repudiate  the  name  of  '  Socialist,'  in  so  far  that  it  implies  a  belief  that 
human  society  is  intended  to  be  organized,  and  will  not  be  in  its  true 
condition  until  it  is  organized  from  the  top  to  the  bottom;  but  we  have 
never  looked  to  the  state  to  do  this  for  us,  we  have  only  asked  the 
state  to  stand  aside  and  give  us  breathing  room  and  elbow  room  to  do 
it  for  ourselves.  And  the  work  is  going  on  under  our  eyes,  in  many 
directions,  and  by  many  agencies  outside  our  own  movement.  For 
all  these  we  should  be  thankful,  and  prompt  to  recognize  and 
help  them  forward  whenever  we  have  the  chance.  Meantime,  and 
especially  at  these  Congresses,  our  own  work  must  claim  our  special 
attention.  But,  while  I  trust  that  we  shall  never  lose  sight  of  the 
severely  practical  method  by  which  we  have  reached  our  present  posi- 
tion, I  must  always  remind  you  that  '  he  who  aims  the  sky  shoots 
higher  far  than  they  who  mean  a  tree.'  And  so,  while  in  the  next 
three  days  we  shall  be  rightly  engaged  in  the  consolidation  of  our 
organization  in  detail,  in  perfecting  the  rules  and  the  business  arrange- 
ments of  existing  societies,  I  hope  we  may  find  time  for  some  forecast 
of  greater  things  which  are  behind.  Our  foremost  thinkers  have  made 
us  already  familiar  with  the  ideas  of  a  co-operative  banking  system. 
Co-operative  farms,  co-operative  manufacturing  villages,  all  of  which 


I  I  6  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

must  be  thought  out  and  worked  out  before  we  have  made  our  Eng- 
land (as  we  mean  to  make  her)  the  best  place  for  working  men  to  live 
in  that  the  sun  ever  shone  on. 

"Again,  with  respect  to  international  projects,  we  cannot  and  do 
not  wish  to  deny  that  we  do  entertain  them.  We  look  forward  to  the 
time  when  solidarity  between  the  people  of  different  nations  and 
countries  will  become  a  fact,  and  when  wars  will  be  as  obsolete 
between  nations  as  duelling  has  become  between  men  in  our  own 
country.  But  we  are  not  going  to  preach  universal  brotherhood  with 
a  rifle  in  one  hand  and  a  torch  in  the  other,  and  do  not  believe  it  will 
be  brought  any  nearer  by  violent  changes  m  forms  of  government." 

Of  the  same  general  character  is  the  position  assumed 
by  Thomas  Huglies  with  regard  to  the  remarkable  devel- 
opement  of  the  Trades'  Union  movement.  In  i860  he 
acted  as  Secretar}-  of  a  committee  charged  with  the  pre- 
paration of  a  report  on  that  subject  for  the  British  Social 
Science  Association,  a  report  which  was  presented  at  the 
Glasgow  Congress.  The  result  of  the  committee's  labors 
was  printed  in  a  large  and  valuable  volume.  In  the  debate 
on  its  reception  at  Glasgow,  Mr.  Hughes  said  in  comment- 
ing on  the  different  views  expressed  by  the  employing  and 
employed  classes,  that  as  to  the  latter : — 

"  The  foundation  of  that  difference  was,  that  they  treated  the 
labor  of  their  men,  which  was  in  fact  the  lives  of  their  men,  on  the 
same  principles  as  those  on  which  they  treated  a  dead  commodity. 
They  most  rigorously  applied  to  it  the  same  law  of  supply  and  demand 
as  they  applied  to  any  other  commodity,  thereby  putting  the  living 
man  and  inanimate  things  on  the  same  footing.  Well,  that  might  be  a 
capital  rule  of  thumb.  They  might  lay  down  a  law  and  act  up  to  it ;  but 
the  rule  would  not  work.  What  had  brought  on  all  the  discussion  as 
to  the  antagonism  of  classes  ?  Simply  the  attempt  to  carry  that  rule 
rigorously  out.  He  believed  that  had  raised  those  disputes,  and 
would  continue  to  the  end  of  time  to  raise  them.     They  must  look  from 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  I  I  7 

a  different  point  of  view.     They  must  treat  the  living  man  according 
to  different  rules  from  those  which  they  applied  to  the  dead  material. 

"  Here  was  a  committee  of  thirty  gentlemen,  amongst  whom  were 
several  influential  employers.  Two-thirds  of  these  gentlemen  started 
in  the  belief  that  as  a  rule  trades'  unions  were  in  the  hands  of  mere 
demagogues,  not  working  men.  But,  he  believed,  they  were  now 
unanimous  in  the  conclusion  that  this  was  not  so.  As  was  stated  in 
tlie  Report,  they  believed  that  the  leaders  of  trade  societies  were 
generally  men  who  represented  the  feeling  of  their  class,  and  also  able 
and  proficient  workmen,  who  really  lived  by  their  trade,  and  who  had 
little  to  do  with  agitations.  They  (the  committee)  were  at  first  almost 
unanimous  in  their  belief  that  trades'  unions  fostered  bad  blood  and 
ill-feeling  between  masters  and  men ;  but  from  the  histories  of  all  the 
strikes  he  had  gone  into,  he  was  of  opinion  that  trades'  unions  tended 
to  stop  strikes,  and  not  to  foster  them. " 

He  urged  arbitrative  tribunals  as  one  of  the  better  modes 
of  settlement.  In  reviewing  the  debate,  Mr.  Hughes  again 
urged  that,  so  far  as  "  supply  and  demand  "  were  con- 
cerned, other  and  higher  laws  had  to  be  considered.  He 
had  been  defied  "  to  distinguish  between  labor  and  other 
articles.  He  need  not  distinguish  them,  they  would  dis- 
tinguish themselves  ;  he  said  the  living  labor  would  dis- 
tinguish itself  by  either  helping  or  hindering  its  employer, 
and  cotton  goods  could  not  help  and  could  not  hinder  him. 
The  importance  of  friendly  feelings  between  masters  and 
men  had  been  dwelt  on.  Could  there  be  friendly  feeling 
between  a  master  and  a  bale  of  goods  ?  The  attempt  to 
apply  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  to  human  labor,  as 
rigorously  as  to  cotton,  coal  and  mere  commodities,  had 
brought  on  in  France  the  French  revolution  ;  in  this 
country  Luddite  riots.  Chartists  and  rick  burning  ;  and 
slavery  in  America." 

And  it  must  be  said  for  Mr.  Hughes'  view,  that  it  is  now, 


Il8  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

scarce  fifteen  years  later,  coming  to  be  generally  accepted 
in  Great  Britain.  Strangely  enough,  it  would  seem,  the  old 
fast  and  rigid  rule  is  being  pressed  more  and  more  in  re- 
publican America,  where  it  would  appear  that  Co-oper- 
ative politics  should  more  readily  educate  the  interested 
classes  into  the  principles  of  Co-operative  social  economy. 
Mr.  Hughes  however  thinks  there  is  hope  even  for  us. 
In  a  recent  article  on  the  "  Working  Class  of  Europe,"  * 
he  quotes  from  the  poem  of  "  John  o'  the  Smithy  "  these  two 
stanzas  " — 

"  But  a  clear  keen  voice  comes  over  the  sea ; 
It  is  piercing  the  gloom  of  the  waning  night ; 
Time  was,  time  is,  and  time  shall  be 

When  John  o'  the  Smithy  shall  come  by  his  right. 

"  And  they  who  have  forged  the  pitiless  round 

Which  has  pressed  him  hard  in  body  and  soul ; 
Shall  perish  from  earth  when  the  grist  is  ground 
And  the  mighty  miller  shall  claim  his  toll ! " 

"The  author  we  believe,"  adds  Mr.  Hughes,  "was  an 
American,  though  the  scene  is  supposed  to  be  laid  in  the 
old  world.  But  if  so,  and  if  he  intended  the  '  clear 
keen  voice '  which  was  to  declare  deliverance  and  a 
bright  day  to  the  working  people  was  to  come  from  the 
west ;  if  he  meant  by  '  over  the  sea  '  over  the  Atlantic — he 
blundered  as  a  seer.  The  principle  of  association,  which 
is  proving  to  be  the  Ithuriel's  spear  for  the  poor  of  Europe, 
has  been  of  home  growth.  In  several  of  its  developments 
that  principle  is  not  likely  for  many  generations,  if  ever, 
to  find  so  congenial  a  soil  in  America.  Trades'  Unionism 
can  never  be  formidable  in  a  country  where  the  boundary 

*  Internatioual  Review,  March,  1874. 


THOMAS    HUGHES.  II9 

lines  of  classes  are  so  indistinct,  and  which  has  an  inex- 
haustible supply  of  rich  land  for  the  discontented  to  fall 
back  upon,  though  we  quite  admit,  in  view  of  the  farmers 
granges  in  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  miners'  combinations 
in  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere,  that  the  design  to  fix  the 
price  at  which  one's  own  labor  shall  be  sold  is  just  as 
common  in  the  Great  West  as  in  Europe." 

Mr.  Hughes  reviews,  in  the  article  referred  to,  foui 
movements  :  the  report  of  the  British  Co-operative  congress, 
that  of  the  German  Advance  Credit  Societies,  the  Artizan 
Laborers  and  General  Dwellings  Company,  and  the  Report 
of  the  Working  Men's  Clubs  and  Institute  Union.  These 
he  regards  as  part  of  one  movement ; — i.  Unions  of  con- 
sumers or  workers  to  carry  on  production  and  distribution  ; 
2.  Union  of  workers  to  obtain  capital  and  utilize  credit  to 
their  own  advantage  ;  3.  Social  Union  to  obtain  for  the 
artizan  the  social  advantage  which  club  life  offers  the  wealth- 
ier class  ;  4.  Union  to  obtain  healthier  and  improved  dwell- 
ings and  become  their  own  landlords. 

In  concluding  his  review  of  these  efforts  and  their 
effects,  Mr.  Hughes  declares  that  they  are  ostracising  the 
"  evil  spirits  of  irreligion  and  communism  "  and  that  in 
England  "  the  jealousy  of  capital,  which  still  exists,  has  no 
dangerous  side  to  it,"  and  in  concluding  he  asserts  that 
the  Co-operative  movement  is  the  most  beneficial  ordering 
of  industrial  efforts  for  the  universal  good  which  it  is  at 
present  possible  to  devise." 

Thomas  Hughes  is  a  man  of  well  knit  frame,  tall  in 
stature,  fond  of  athletic  sports,  and  a  good  example  of  the 
'  Muscular  Christian."  He  is  Anglo-Saxon  to  the  core. 
His  complexion  is  fair,  hair  deep  auburn,  eyes  blue,  his  head 


I20  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

is  large,  high  and  well  balanced.  As  a  speaker  he  is 
ready  and  more  fluent  than  is  common  with  English  ora- 
tors, though  he  has  a  little  of  the  hesitancy  ot  manner 
peculiar  to  them.  There  is  a  vein  of  ready  wit  in  his 
efforts  and  he  is  an  admirable  presiding  officer,  though 
there  is  but  little  magnetism  in  his  manner. 

In  fact,  while  he  never  offends  by  patroniziiig  ways — that 
the  essential  manliness  of  his  character  forbids, — ^he  does 
not  attract,  except  intellectually,  tliose  with  v»i>om  so  much 
of  his  lifework  has  been  performed.  He  is  a  college 
man,  and  in  this  country  would  gravitate  naturally  to  Cam- 
bridge and  its  social  and  mental  influences.  There  is 
none  of  the  comradeship  of  the  workshop — ^the  fraternity 
of  common  things  and  people, — about  him.  But  he  is  a 
man  of  high  purposes,  manliness  and  vigor  :  a  thinker, 
writer  and  worker  of  rare  qualities,  the  sum  of  whose  life 
when  added  up  will  prove  to  have  been  the  product  of  sin- 
cere and  wholesome  effort  to  leave  the  world  better  than  he 
found  it.  Mr.  Hughes'  home  life  is  stated  by  his  friends 
to  be  charming,  and  he  has  much  personal  popularity  in  his 
own  social  circle. 


M 

i 

P 

IT^ 

0 

iS 

m 

i 

VIII. 


Anthony   John    Mundella. 


STRANGER  standing  in  the  handsome  lobby 
or  vestibule  of  the  House  of  Commons,  to 
watch  the  coming  and  going  of  the  ever- 
changing  crowd,  will  be  very  likely  to  notice  a  gen- 
tleman of  dark  complexion,  full  beard,  and  strongly 
marked  features,  above  the  middle  height,  slightly 
bent  at  the  shoulders,  and  with  an  un-English  as- 
pect in  his  face  and  appearance,  who  moves  briskly 
through  the  throng,  with  a  business  air,  and  is  often 
ac(^osted  by  persons  whom  your  chaperon,  if  he  is  well 
informed  on  the  habitues  of  the  place,  will  name  to  you  as 
the  prominent  labor  agitators,  secretaries  of  various  po- 
litical associations,  parliamentar}''  agents  in  a  large  or  small 
way,  but  generally  identified  with  some  reform  or  educa- 
tional movement  and  effort.  The  gentleman  referred  to 
has  the  look  of  a  keen,  observant,  self-possessed  man  who 
does  not  under-estimate  his  own  position  or  capacity.  He 
is,  in  the  better  sense,  a  self  made  man,  conscious  of  his 


1^2  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

title  to  respect,  giving  his  best  to  the  public  sen-ice  for 
what  the  age  has  rendered  unto  him.  If  he  be,  as  is 
satirically  suggested  by  some  of  the  press  critics,  some- 
thing of  an  egotist,  he  at  least  redeems  the  fault  by  hon- 
est and  wise  efforts  for  his  country  and  people.  One  can 
readily  see  that  Anthony  J.  Mundella,  junior  member  for 
Sheffield,  is  a  man  of  affairs,  strong  in  the  general  esteem 
as  well  as  in  his  own,  and  with  fair  prospects  of  continued 
recognition  before  him. 

The  un-English  look  of  his  face  is  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  he  is,  on  his  father's  side,  of  Italian  origin. 
Antonio  Mundella  was  a  native  of  Como,  Italy,  of  good 
family  and  fair  culture,  who  became  a  political  refugee  in 
1820,  in  connection  with  a  revolutionary  conspiracy  against 
the  Austrians.  He  had  been  educated  for  the  Roman 
priesthood,  but  his  political  bias  led  him  away  from  that 
position.  He  settled  in  Leicester,  where  he  undertook 
to  teach  pupils,  and  soon  after  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
T.  Allsop,  Esq.,  of  that  city.  Anthony,  their  son,  was  born 
March  28th,  1825,  and  is  therefore  in  his  fifty-first  year. 
His  mother,  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character,  intel- 
ligence and  ability,  possessed  a  small  property  and  ex- 
hibited a  remarkable  degree  of  skill  and  taste  in  embroi- 
dering lace.  She  was  her  son's  teacher  for  several  years, 
but  when  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age  she  became  nearly 
blind  from  disease  brought  on  by  over  application  at  fine 
lace  work.  The  father's  earnings  are  spoken  of  as  small 
and  precarious. 

Anthony  Mundella  was  first  sent  to  a  small  private 
school,  and  with  his  mother's  aid,  made  great  progress. 
At  ten  years  of  age,  however,  he  was  obliged  to  aid  in 


ANTHONY   JOHN    MUNDELLA.  12$ 

maintaining  himself,  and  worked  for  nearly  two  years  in  a 
printing  office.  He  was  fortunate  enough,  on  becoming  ap- 
prenticed to  the  hosiery  business,  to  secure  a  generous 
employer.  At  eighteen  years  he  was  master  of  his  time, 
which  had  been  well  employed,  both  in  business  and  at  the 
Mechanics'  Institute  of  his  native  town.  Before  he  had 
attained  his  twentieth  year,  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
W.  Smith,  Esq.,  a  manufacturer  at  Nottingham. 

Mr.  Mundella's  politics  are  the  outgrowth  of  tempera- 
ment and  experience,  their  naturally  radical  character  be- 
ing tempered  by  the  wider  observation  and  larger  stakes 
of  later  life.  The  "  stockingers"  of  the  Midland  counties 
were,  in  his  youthful  days,  a  class  without  much  hope,  and 
endured  much  of  the  misery  that  comes  from  poverty. 
The  apprentice  boy  was  an  adept  at  writing  political 
ballads.  At  fifteen  he  heard  his  own  compositions 
sung  on  the  streets  or  at  public  meetings.  It  was  in 
the  preliminary  days  of  the  chartist  agitation,  and  on 
one  occasion  the  earnest  youth,  then  with  slightly  im- 
proved personal  fortunes,  and  suM-ounded  by  influences 
somew'hat  remote  from  such  radical  opinions,  identified 
himself  in  a  ringing  speech,  with  that  movement.  The 
charter,  as  it  was  called,  demanded  the  following  reforms  : 

"Our  Union  seeks  the  enactment  of  Universal  Suffrage — the 
admission  to  the  franchise  of  every  man  of  twenty-one  years  of  at^e, 
of  sound  mind  and  unconvicted  of  crime  ;  Equal  Representation, 
— the  division  of  the  U"ited  Kingdom  into  equal  electoral  districts  ; 
The  Abolition  of  thi'  Property  Qualification  now  required  of 
Members  of  Parliament,  and  of  all  qualifications  except  the  choice 
of  the  electors  ;  Vote  by  Ballot — to  prevent  Bribery  and  intim.ida- 
tion;  Annual  Parliaments — to  insure  the  responsibility  of  the 
members  to  their  constituents ;  And  the  Payment  of  Members— 


1 24  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

rendered  necessary  by  the  abolition  of  the  present  property  qualifica- 
tions."* 

Thomas  Cooper,  author  of  the  "  Purgatory  of  Suicides," 
written  while  he  was  confined  for  sedition  in  Leicester 
jail,  writes  of  young  Mundella's  debut  as  a  political 
speaker,  that  he  "  had  been  appealing  strongly  one  even- 
ing to  the  patriotic  feelings  of  young  Englishmen,  men- 
tioning the  names  of  Hampden,  Sydney,  and  Marvell,  and 
eulogizing  the  grand  spirit  of  disinterestedness  and  self- 
sacrifice  which  characterized  so  many  of  our  brave  fore" 
runners,  when  a  handsome  young  man  sprang  upon  our 
little  platform  and  declared  himself  on  the  people's  side, 
and  desired  to  be  enrolled  as  a  Chartist.  He  did  not  be- 
long to  the  poorest  ranks,  and  it  was  the  consciousness 
that  he  was  acting  in  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  as  well  as 
his  fervid  eloquence,  that  caused  a  thrilling  cheer  from  the 
ranks  of  the  working  men.  He  could  not  have  been  more 
than  fifteen  at  that  time  ;  he  passed  away  from  us  too 
soon,  and  I  have  never  seen  him  but  once  all  these  years. 
But  the  men  of  Sheffield  have  signalized  their  confidence 
in  his  patriotism  by  returning  him  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons ;  and  all  England  knows  if  there  be  a  man  of  energy 
as  well  as  uprightness  in  th-rt  house,  it  is  Anthony  John 
Mundella."t 

Mr.  Mundella,  at  the  expiration  of  his  apprenticeship, 
was  engaged  to  assist  in  the  management  of  a  factory,  and 
at  twenty-three  he  removed  to  Nottingham, — then  as  now, 
the  centre  of  the  English  hosiery  manufacture, — where  he 

*  From  an  address  of  the  Charter  Union,  issued  April  17,  1S48. 
t  Autobiography  of  Thomas  Cooper,  London,  1872. 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.  '      1 25 

became  junior  partner  in  a  large  firm.  This  was  in  1848, 
in  the  midst  of  great  political  excitement.  He  soon  be- 
came favorably  known  in  local  affairs  as  well  as  business 
circles,  and  was  chosen  Sheriff  of  Nottingham,  in  1854, 
being  only  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  Since  then,  and  be- 
fore entering  Parliament,  he  was  elected  to  the  Town 
Council,  Presiding  Alderman,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  took  an 
early  and  active  part  in  the  Volunteer  Rifle  movement,  be- 
coming captain  of  a  company. 

But  that  part  of  his  active  life  by  which  he  has  be 
come  most  widely  and  favorably  known — that  of  organ- 
izing the  first  English  Council  of  Arbitration  and  Concili- 
ation— began  in  1859  ;  when,  wearied  with  the  chronic 
troubles  and  losses  growing  out  of  "strikes"  and  "lock- 
outs," and  deeply  impressed  by  his  own  early  experiences, 
that  neither  blame  or  obstinacy  were  to  be  found  all  on  one 
side — that  of  the  working  mass, — Mr.  ]\Iundella  determined 
to  bring  about  a  better  condition  of  affairs.  After  laboring 
for  eleven  weeks  with  his  associate  manufacturers,  and  in 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  he  commenced  his  important 
experiment.  The  result  thereof  he  has  himself  given  in 
public  speeches,  lectures,  and  in  evidence  before  Royal 
Commissioners  appointed  to  inquire  into  its  workings, 
and  the  workings  of  labor  organizations  generally. 

The  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Mundella  in  this  move- 
ment can  hardly  be  appreciated  by  those, — and  they  con 
stitute  a  ver)'  large  majorit}'  of  American  readers, — who 
have  never  investigated  the  conditions  under  which  labor 
disputes  arise.  Heretofore  our  elbow-room  has  been  so 
abundant  that  we  have  been  insensible  to  the  changed 


126  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

social  conditions  which  have  gradually  concentiated  wealth 
and  business  enterprises  into  fewer  and  fewer  hands.  Mr. 
Mundella,  when  visiting  the  United  States  in  1870-71,  expres- 
sed to  the  writer  his  surprise  at  the  general  indifference,  not  to 
sa}^  ignorance,  as  to  these  changes,  and  the  reasonable 
methods  adopted  elsewhere  to  bring  them  to  peaceful  set- 
tlement. During  the  past  ten  years,  there  have  been  four 
great  strikes  and  lock-outs  among  the  Pennsylvania  coal 
miners,  each  of  which  involved  from  ten  to  thirt}^  thousand 
working  men  with  their  families.  In  the  town  of  Fall  River, 
Mass.,  alone,  there  have  been  three  such  disasters  within 
six  years,  involving  from  five  to  fifteen  thousand  operatives, 
with  those  dependent  on  them. 

In  Great  Britain,  within  the  six  years  preceding  Mr.  Mun- 
della's  organization  of  the  first  Board  of  Conciliation,  there 
had  been  a  number  of  great  strikes — one  at  Preston,  involv- 
ing 18,000  cotton-mill  operatives.  During  the  year  in 
which  the  Nottingham  Council  was  inaugurated,  the  Lon- 
don building  trades  were  on  strike  to  the  number  of  10  to 
12,000.  Several  times  during  the  years  immediately  pre. 
ceeding  1859,  strikes  and  lock-outs  occurred  in  the  hosiery 
manufacture,  taking  out  several  thousand  operatives  each 
time.  The  loss  of  money  in  these  struggles  has  not  been, 
in  the  opinion  of  competent  observers,  so  much  to  be 
deplored,  as  the  increasing  alienation  of  classes,  and 
"the  fomenting  of  hostilities  and  antagonisms  after  each 
contest.  In  a  country  like  England,  small  in  area  and 
thickly  populated,  with  old  institutions  more  or  less  hos- 
tile to  the  masses,  this  is  a  source  of  more  dread  than  here  ; 
but  the  experiences  England  offers  are  a  warning  not  to  be 
lightly  regarded  by  other  nations. 


ANTHONY    JOHN    MUNDELLA.  I  27 

Mr.  George  Potter,  editor  of  the  London  Beehive, 
writing  of  "  Conciliation  and  Arbitration,"  says — 

"No  man  is  better  entitled  to  respectful,  trustful,  and 
even  grateful  attention  on  these  matters  than  is  Mr.  Mun- 
della.  Member  for  Sheffield,  Manufacturer  at  Nottingham, 
and  in  his  origin  a  working  man.  He,  as  all  even  cursori- 
ly informed  on  the  subject  are  aware,  is  founder  of  the 
Nottingham  Board  of  Arbitration  for  the  hosiery  trade. 
After  an  experience  of  seven  years  (i86i-8)from  the  date 
of  its  institution,  it  could  be  said  of  this  Board  that  dis- 
putes between  masters  and  men  had  been  thereby  prevent- 
ed. No  remedy,  he  contends,  is  complete  and  perfect  that 
does  not  provide  for  prospective  action.  With  respect  to 
conciliation,  there  is  no  room  for  misunderstanding  that. 
What,  he  asks,  is  meant  by  arbitration  ?  It  is  an  arrange- 
ment for  open  and  friendly  bargaining.  Arbitration,  how- 
ever, seems  to  be  something  more  positive  and  absolute 
than  this.  It,  first  of  all,  implies  an  arbiter,  one  who  goes 
to  a  place  in  the  character  of  a  seer,  a  hearer,  a  witness- 
The  arbiter  arbitrates  when,  between  two  parties,  he  pro- 
nounces sentence  according  to  equity  and  the  best  of  his 
judgment.  But  he  must  be  authorized  to  treat  .the  matter 
in  dispute  according  to  his  own  will.  The  declaration  ot 
that  will  is  an  arbitration,  and  is  final.  Hence  the  mean- 
ing of  authority  beyond  appeal  attached  to  the  epithet  ar- 
bitrary. 

"  Mr.  Mundella  is  one  of  those  who  have  no  faith  in  ar- 
bitration by  persons  who  know  nothing  of,  and  have  no  in- 
terest in,  the  particular  trade  with  which  the  question  sub- 
mitted may  be  connected.  '  Arbitration,'  he  contends,  '  to 
be  effective  in  preventing  disputes,  must  be  the  result  of  a 


128  BRIEF 'biographies. 

system  of  open  and  friendly  bargaining,  in  which  masters 
and  men  meet  together  and  talk  over  their  common  affairs 
openly  and  freely.  Engineers  cannot  legislate  for  tailors, 
nor  tailors  for  engineers  ;  each  industry  must  legislate  for 
itself.'  "  In  this  respect  Mr.  Mundella's  view  differs  from 
that  of  others  who  contend  for  general  boards.  Mr.  Pot- 
ter then  continues  to  paraphrase  and  quote  Mr.  Mundella's 
testimony,  before  a  Royal  Commission  of  Inquiry,  as  fol- 
lows :  "From  1820  to  i860,"  he  observes,  'offences 
against  person  and  property  diminished  ;  but  combinations 
were  better  organized,  and  strikes  increased.'  But  let  this 
sentence  be  connected  with  that  in  which  he  bears  witness 
that  '  the  leaders  of  trades'  unions  have  been  among  the 
most  energetic  advocates  of  Courts  of  Arbitration  and 
Conciliation.'         *         *         * 

"In  i860,  some  at  least  of  the  Nottingham  masters  be- 
came weary  of  contention,  and  were  persuaded  that  lock- 
outs were  not  a  remedy  for  strikes.  After  a  century  of  feud, 
they  desired  an  era  of  conciliation.  First  communicating 
with  their  brother  masters,  they  brought  them  into  the 
same  mind.  A  resolution  was  passed,  and  a  handbill  issued. 
In  fact  the  masters  invited  the  men  to  meet  them  with 
a  view  to  some  arrangement.  The  invitation  was  accepted, 
and,  at  the  end  of  three  days'  discussion,  the  existing 
strike  came  to  a  close  by  mutual  concession.  But  this  was 
not  all.  It  was  further  agreed  that,  to  prevent  strikes  for 
the  future,  '  strikes  so  disastrous  to  employers  and  em- 
ployed,' a  Board  of  Arbitration  should  be  at  once  formed. 
It  was  to  consist  of  six  masters  and  six  workmen.  To  it 
all  questions  relating  to  wages  were  to  be  referred,  and  its 
decisions  were  to  be  final  and  binding  upon  all  parties.  No 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.       I  29 

sooner  said  than  done  ;  only,  by  mutual  agreement,  nine 
from  each  side  were  substituted  for  six.  The  nine  work- 
men were  chosen  by  the  universal  suffrage  of  their  own 
trades'  unions ;  the  nine  masters,  at  a  general  meeting  of 
their  own  body. 

"The  Board  met  on  the  3d  of  December,  i860.     They 
had  neither  rules  or  precedents.     The  scheme  was   not 
universally  approved  by  either  masters  or  men.    Some  dis- 
trusted it  even  to  suspicion  ;  others  assailed  it  with  ridicule 
and  sneers ;  a  third  portion  (of  the  masters)  doubted  the 
practicability,  if  they  did  not  disdain  the  thought,  of  mas- 
ters meeting  men  on  terms  of  perfect  equality.    However, 
the  experimenters  had  with  them  a  majority  cf  the  mas- 
ters, and  perhaps  the  bulk  of  the  intelligent  men.     The 
result  shall  be  stated  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  founders 
own  words.      'Whenever  men   meet   together  with   the 
honest  desire  to  aim  at  the  truth,  and  to  do  justice  to  each 
other,    a  good  understanding   is   almost   sure   to  follow.' 
The  working-men  delegates  proposed  a  master  as  presi- 
dent ;  the  masters,  a  workman  as  vice  president — prece- 
dents which  have  been  invariably  followed.     The  rules 
originally  made  have  never  been  altered.     Brief  and  sim- 
ple, they  provide  for  arbitration  on  any  questions  relating 
to  wages,  and  for  conciliation  in   any  dispute  that  may 
arise ;  and  they  intrust  to  a  committee  of  four  members 
(two,  it  is  assumed,  on  each  side)  inquiry  into  cases  re- 
ferred to  it,  with  instructions  to  settle  the  disputes,  or,  if 
unable,  to  remit  them  to  the  whole  Board.     This,  there- 
fore,  is,  after  all,  an  example  of  '  settling  their  disputes 
among  themselves.'     Not  only  is  no  stranger  called  in,  but 
no  umpire,  no  chairman  even,   is   appointed  beyond   the 
6*  9 


130  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

members  of  the  Board,  who,  as  has  been  seen,  choose  their 
own  president  and  vice-president  from  among  themselves. 
Experience,  however,  has  convinced  ]\Ir.  Mundella  and 
tlie  Board,  that  it  impairs  the  influence  of  the  individual 
and  of  the  Board  when,  as  has  happened  to  himself,  the 
president  gives  a  casting  vote.  '  I  consider  it  undesirable,' 
he  observes,  '  that  one  side  should  even  appear  to  have 
the  least  preponderance  over  the  other  ;  and  the  employ- 
ers intend,  at  the  annual  meeting,  to  propose  the  abolition 
of  that  privilege,  and  to  substitute  for  it,  after  the  exam.- 
ple  of  Leicester,  the  vote  of  some  gentleman  acquainted, 
but  not  connected,  with  the  trade,  in  whose  honor  and 
justice  both  parties  shall  have  full  confidence.' 

"Mr.  Mundella  does  not  pretend  that  there  have  been 
no  difficulties,  no  mistakes  ;  but  he  distinctly  states  that 
eveiy  question  submitted  for  seven  years  has  been  success- 
fully adjusted.  '  We  have  had  instances,'  he  admits,  '  where 
employers  have  acted  contrary  to  the  decisions  of  the 
Board,  and  two  where  workmen  have  refused  to  accept 
those  decisions ;  but  the  steady  adherence  of  the  majority 
of  both  parties  to  our  decrees  has  always,  sooner  or  later, 
brought  the  recalcitrants  (the  kickers,  in  fact)  back  to  our 
side.'  The  Nottingham  Board  now  governs  the  hosiery 
trade  of  Nottingham,  Derbyshire,  and  North  Leicester- 
shire ;  and  the  number  of  persons  employed  cannot  be 
less  than  sixty  thousand.  It  is  ver}'-  rarely  that  the  price 
originally  proposed  by  either  masters  or  workmen  is  the 
price  ultimately  agreed  to.  Some  alterations  or  conces- 
sions are  generally  made  on  both  sides ;  and  the  price 
once  fixed,  is  considered  mutually  binding.  But  a  month's 
notice  must  be  given  before  any  change  of  prices  can  be 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.        I3I 

discussed.  Most  questions  are  settled  in  committee.  Tlie 
two  seceders  from  tlie  Board  were  re-admitted  at  tlieir  own 
request.  For  tliree  years  and  a-half  (the  latter  portion  of 
the  seven)  the  Board  have  arrived  at  all  their  decisions 
without  voting.  The  Board  is  open  to  receive  delegations 
from  out-of-doors,  a  practice  which  has  had  a  very  whole- 
some effect ;  the  general  result  being,  that,  by  coming  into 
friendly  contact  with  each  other,  mutual  confidence  takes 
place  of  former  mistrust,  and  the  full  force  of  facts  and 
argimients  on  one  side  comes  to  be  acknowledged  on  the 
other. 

'In  fact,'  says  Mr.  Mundella,  'the  less  the  workman  is  kept  in 
the  dark,  the  better  it  is  both  for  himself  and  his  master.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  insight  which  the  master  obtains  into  the  circumstances 
and  views  of  the  workman,  tends  greatly  to  develop  his  sympathies 
and  to  improve  the  workman's  condition.  And  we  feel  that  labor  de- 
mands more  consideration  at  our  hands  than  iron,  or  coal,  or  cotton 
or  any  dead  commodity.' 

"  Who,  then,  are  the  workmen  that  have  seats  at  a 
Board  which  are  producing  all  these  beneficial  effects  ? 
'In  almost  all  cases,'  answers  Mr.  Mundella,  'they  are 
prominent  leaders  of  trades'  unions ; '  and,  he  adds,  '  I 
have  found  among  them  as  much  wisdom,  tact,  modera- 
tion, and  self-denial  as  the  best  of  us  who  are  employers 
can  show.'  We  now  learn  what,  according  to  Nottingham 
experience,  has  been  the  effect  of  conciliation  and  arbi- 
tration in  relation  both  to  unionism  and  conflicts  between 
capital  and  labor, 

"Since  the  27th  of  September,  1S60,"  says  Mr.  Mundella,  "there 
has  not  been  a  bill  of  any  kind  issued.  Strikes  are  at  an  end  also. 
Levies  to  sustain  them  are  unknown ;  and  one  shilling  a  year  from 
each  member  suffices  to  pay  all  expenses.  This,  not  a  farthing  of 
which  comes  out  of  the  pockets  of  their  masters,  is  equivalent  to  a 


132  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

large  advance  of  wages.  I  have  inspected  the  balance-sheet  of  a 
trades'  union  of  ten  thousand  three  hundred  men,  and  I  found  the  ex- 
penditure for  thirteen  months  to  amount  to  less  than  a  hundred 
pounds " * 

But  the  membei-  for  Sheffield  has  not  contented  him- 
self with  the  special  work  of  organizing  Conciliation  in 
the  business  with  which  he  is  connected.  He  has  for  ten 
years  past  been  active  in  promulgating  the  ideas  which 
animate  that  movement,  and  in  the  advocacy  of  co-ope- 
ration and  industrial  partnerships,  as  remedies  for  the 
present  dependence  of  labor  on  wages  alone,  a  dependence 
which  he  clearly  sees  to  be  the  principal  cause  of  the  aggres- 
sive uneasiness  that  exists  everywhere  where  organized  in- 
dustries are  in  operation.  Mr.  Mundella  expresses  clearly 
the  opinion  that  the  wages  system  is  an  inequitable  method 
of  distributing  results  or  profits  to  labor.  Nor  has  he 
hesitated  to  boldly  sustain  the  right  of  organization  and  to 
defend  trades'  unions,  in  or  out  of  Parliament,  when  he 
deemed  them  unjustly  assailed.  It  was  in  consequence  of 
these  views,  that  he  received  the  nomination  and  election  for 
the  Borough  of  Sheffield  in  1868.  At  that  time  England 
was  greatly  agitated  over  the  the  shocking  developments 
made  in  regard  to  "  rattening,"  and  other  outrages,  prac- 
ticed by  the  cutlery  and  grinding  trades,  whose  business 
is  practically  centered  in  Sheffield.  Charles  Reade's  Novel 
of  "  Put  Yourself  in  His  Place,"  has  presented  these  dis- 
closures with  pre-raphaelite  fidelity,  but  whether  designed 
or  not,  the  effect  of  a  perusal  by  those  unfamiliar  with  the 
facts,  is  to  make  it  appear  that  the  English  trades'  unions, 

* "  Conciliation    and  Arbitration."    Contemporary  Rez'iczv,  Novem« 
her,  1870,  page  551-3. 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.        I  33 

as  such,  were  not  only  responsible  for  the  Sheffield  out- 
rages, but  that  similar  ones  were  the  common  practice 
among  them.  It  was  demonstrated  conclusively  that  the 
offending  trades  were  small  bodies  making  their  own  policy, 
and  refusing  to  act  with  the  larger  ones  and  federated 
movements  that  have  marked  later  years.  Mr.  Mundella 
with  other  prominent  friends  of  labor,  denounced  the  view 
alluded  to,  and  which  Mr.  Reade  has  presented  with  great 
art  in  his  novel.  A  Royal  Commission  was  in  session  in 
1868,  by  request  of  the  leading  Trades'  Agitators.  Mr. 
Roebuck,  who  had  for  many  years  represented  Sheffield, 
was  a  member  of  it.  He  gave  great  offence  by  his  treat- 
ment of  the  Union  leaders,  some  of  whom  were  generally 
present  at  the  sessions  of  the  Commission.  Among  these 
was  a  witty  Irishman  named  Connelly,  a  stone-mason  by 
trade.  This  man  speaking  at  a  public  meeting,  called  by 
himself  and  others  to  denounce  the  Sheffield  atrocities, 
wittily  and  pungently  asked  "  but  what  can  ye  expect  of  a 
Borough  that  sends  Mr.  Roebuck  to  Parliament  ?  "  "The 
Times  "  and  other  papers  commented  annoyingly  on  "  Dog 
Tear  'em,"  as  Mr.  Roebuck  has  been  long  nicknamed  from 
his  satirical  temper  and  speech,  and  that  gentleman,  when 
Mr.  Connelly  next  appeared  in  the  Commission-room, 
asked  that  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  attend  the  session. 
He  carried  his  point  and  as  a  result  lost  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  "  Tom  "  Connelly  and  his  friends 
canvassed  Sheffield  thoroughly,  and  Mr.  Mundella  went  to 
the  head  of  the  poll,  Mr.  Roebuck,  however,  was  re- 
turned at  the  next  election,  with  Mr.  Mundella  as  a  col- 
league, Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain  of  Birmingham,  who 
was  brought  forward,  having  been  returned  lowest,  though 


134  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

his  vote  was  a  large  one.  The  author  of  "  Men  and  Man- 
ners in  Parliament  "  under  the  head  of  "  The  Indepen- 
dent Member,"  describes  one  of  the  most  notable  men  in 
English  politics  in  the  following  happy  manner  : 

"  Sitting  in  the  corner  seat  of  the  front  bench  below 
the  gangway  on  the  opposition  side  is  a  man  so  old  and 
feeble  looking  that  the  stranger  wonders  what  he  does 
here.  His  white  hair  falls  about  a  beardless  face  which 
is  comparatively  fresh  looking,  though  the  eyes  lack  lustre 
and  the  mouth  is  drawn  in.  When  he  rises  to  speak  he 
bends  his  short  stature  over  a  supporting  stick,  and  as  he 
walks  down  to  the  table  to  hand  in  the  perpetual 
notice  of  motion  or  of  question,  he  drags  across  the  floor 
leaden  feet  in  a  painful  way  that  sometimes  suggests  to 
well-meaning  members  the  proffer  of  an  arm,  or  of  a  ser- 
vice to  accomplish  the  errand — advances  which  are  curtly 
repelled,  for  this  is  Mr.  Roebuck:  the  '  Dog  Tear'em  '  of 
old,  toothless  now,  and  dim  of  sight,  but  still  high  in  spirit, 
and  ready  to  fight  with,  or  to  snarl  and  snap  at,  the  un- 
wary passer-by.  ******  * 
Mr.  Roebuck  is  a  good  lover  and  a  good  hater,  chiefly 
the  latter.  A  Parliamentary  Ishmael,  his  hand  has  been 
against  ever)'  one  and  every  one's  hand  against  him.  Lord 
Palmerston,  Mr.  Disraeli,  Mr.  Bright,  Mr.  Cobden  —  in 
brief,  every  man  of  any  prominence  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  has  at  one  time 
or  another  felt  the  fangs  of  '  Tear'em '  *  *  *  In 
argument  his  style  is  clear  and  incisive,  and  he  is  a  master 
of  good,  simple  English,  which  he  marshals  in  short,  crisp 
sentences.  His  voice,  now  so  low  that  it  scarcely  reaches 
the  Speaker's  chair,  was  once  full   and  clear.     As  in  his 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.        1 35 

best  days  he  never  attempted  to  raise  to  anything  appioach- 
ing  florid  eloquence,  so  he  rarely  varied  in  gesture  from  a 
regularly  recurring  darting  of  the  inde;c  finger  at  the  lion, 
member  whom  he  chanced  to  be  attacking — an  angry,  dic- 
tatorial gesture,  which  Mr.  Disraeli,  after  smarting  under 
it  for  an  hour,  once  said  reminded  him  of  '  the  tyrant  of  a 
twopenny  theatre.'  Now  when  Mr.  Roebuck  speaks  his 
hands  are  quietly  folded  before  him,  and  only  at  rare  in- 
tervals does  the  right  hand  go  forth  with  pointed  finger  to 
trace  on  the  memories  of  the  old  men  of  the  House  recol- 
lections of  fierce  fights  in  which  some  partook  who  now 
live  only  as  names  in  history." 

His  repeated  re-elections  for  Sheffield  are  an  evidence 
of  the  fact  that  a  popular  constituency  may  be  led  by  a 
bitter  tongue  and  a  caustic-  wit  quite  as  readily  as  they 
may  be  by  energetic  service  and  fidelity  to  principles  and 
policies. 

The  witty  writer  from  whom  the  foregoing  is  quoted, 
pays  his  respects  to  the  other  member  for  Sheffield,  in 
commenting  upon  the  latter  as  a  parliamentary  speaker  : 

"  Mr.  Mundella  fortunately  has  not  been  discomposed 
by  finding  himself  vis-a-vis  a  strong  Minister.  He  is  ready 
as  ever  to  proffer  advice  in  critical  moments,  and  to  be- 
stow upon  the  House  of  Commons  the  value  of  the  ex- 
perience gained  by  him  during  his  memorable  fortnight's 
visit  to  Germany  and  Switzerland.  No  one  can  say — 
probably  because  no  one  dare  venture  to  sit  down  before 
the  problem — how  we  managed  to  get  on  at  all  before 
Mr.  Mundella  went  that  journey.  But  if  since  his  return 
matters  have  not  mended,  it  is  not  for  lack  of  counsel  on 
the  part  of  the  hon.  member  for  Sheffield.      Mr.  Mundella 


I^b  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

never  makes  a  short  speech,  and  neither  his  manner  nor 
his  matter,  renders  a  long  one  endurable.  It  is  a  curious 
contradiction  of  nature  that  a  professed  humanitarian  who 
has  made  such  great  efforts  in  the  direction  of  shortening 
the  hours  of  labor  in  factories  should  himself  unrelent- 
ingly talk  to  the  hapless  House  of  Commons  for  two  hours 
and  a  half  at  a  stretch.  It  does  not  seem  fitting  that,  in  this 
respect,  there  should  continue  to  be  one  law  for  the  factory 
owner  and  another  for  the  hon.  member  for  Sheffield." 

"  Regarded,"  says  this  writer,  "from  any  point  of  view, 
the  House  of  Commons  has  not  its  equal  anywhere  as  a 
legislative  assembly.  Its  composition  is  the  most  harmoni- 
ously diverse,  its  sense  of  honor  is  the  highest,  its  percep- 
tion of  humor  is  the  keenest,  its  business  capacity  is  the 
largest,  its  collective  wisdom  approaches  the  nearest  to 
perfection,  its  purity  is  the  most  stainless,  its  appreciation 
of  native  talent  is  the  quickest  and  most  generous,  and  its 
instinct  is  the  truest  of  any  of  its  compeers  throughout  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth.  It  is  the  one  British  Institution 
which  no  Briton  need  fear  to  vaunt,  because  foreigners  are 
foremost  in  their  praise  of  it  and  are  united  in  their  at- 
tempts at  imitation.  Next  to  being  the  Lord  Mayor  him- 
self, to  be  a  member  of  Parliament  is,  as  Mr.  Mundella  can 
testify,  the  surest  passport  to  distinction  for  mediocrity 
travelling  on  the  Continent,  and  the  simple  letters  "M.P." 
on  the  bearer's  card,  even  though  the  bearer  be  Mr. 
Mitchell  Henry,  are  an  open  sesame  to  all  the  choicest 
treasure-houses  that  lie  between  the  Ural  Mountains  and 
the  Bay  of  Biscay."  * 

*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,'  pp.  269,  270. 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.        1 37 

But  this  solemn  "  chaff,"  which  is  so  characteristic  a 
feature  of  English  wit,  must  not  blind  us  to  the  earnest- 
ness and  comprehensiveness  of  Mr.  Mundella's  work, — 
especially  marked  in  the  direction  of  securing  national 
education,  as  well  as  in  removing  all  special  legislation 
from  the  statute  book  which  deals  with  labor  offences  in  a 
spirit  different  from  that  with  which  other  acts  or  offences 
are  treated  by  English  law,  Mr.  Mundella's  firm  employs 
several  thousand  Saxon  operatives,  and  he  is  in  the  habit 
of  making  frequent  visits  to  the  continent.  The  reference 
made  by  the  critic  is  to  a  special  journey,  taken, — as 
was  the  one  in  company  with  Mr.  T.  Hughes  to  the 
United  States, — principally  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
educational  systems.  His  time  w-as  utilized  to  the  greatest 
advantage,  as  those  who  met  him  in  the  United  States  can 
understand.  At  Washington  he  made  a  rapid  survey  of 
the  Departments,  and  was  especially  interested  in  the 
Bureau  of  Education  and  its  work.  At  the  request  of  the 
Commissioner,  Hon.  John  Eaton,  he  made  some  '.nterest- 
ing  statements,  giving  his  views  as  to  the  value  of  edu- 
cated labor  over  uneducated, — the  Bureau  being  at  that 
time  engaged  in  making  investigations  relating  thereto.* 

His  speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  to  a  large  meeting 
of  workingmen,  was  heartily  received.  On  these  questions 
Mr.  Mundellamay  be  regarded  as  an  authority  and  the  lec- 
tures he  has  delivered  on  the  subject  of  technical  and 
general  education  are  considered  as  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  the  discussion.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  several  debates  on  the  Education  Bills  of  1870  and 

*  Circular  of  Infoimation  by  the  Bureau  of  Education,  April,  1872. 


13^  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

1872,  and  the  propositions  since  made  for  the  repeal  of  the 
objectionable  twenty-fifth,  or  rate-paying  section.  Mr. 
Mundella  is  an  active  member  of  the  "  National  Education 
League,  "  and  serves  on  its  Executive  Committee.  Favor- 
ing compulsory  education,  he  was  a  member  of  a  depu- 
tation from  the  League,  which  waited  in  1870,  on  Mr. 
Gladstone.  In  urging  their  policy,  he  said  that  "  without 
compulsion,  nothing  like  a  good  education  is  secured. 
However  much  you  may  cover  the  land  with  schools  ;  how- 
ever ample  the  provision  may  be  that  you  make  for  those 
schools,  as  in  America,  as  in  France  indeed,  and  as  in 
Holland,  the  results  will  be  altogether  inadequate  to  your 
efforts  unless  you  make  it  the  absolute  duty  of  the  parent 
that  the  child  shall  be  in  attendance,  regularly  and  con- 
secutively, for  a  certain  number  of  years.  My  attention 
was  first  drawn  to  this  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  I  am  an 
employer  of  labor  abroad,  that  I  have  seen  the  working  of 
this  system  in  Switzerland  and  in  Germany ;  and  I  have  seen 
its  contrast,  too,  in  Holland  and  in  France.  I  am  conscious 
also,"  he  adds,  "of  what  is  going  on  in  America,  and  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  although  America  has  made  the  most 
ample  provision  of  any  country  in  the  world  for  schools, 
yet  American  education,  instead  of  progressing,  is  on  the 
decline."  He  urged  that  the  English  ideal  must  be  a  high 
one  ;  that  there  must  be  a  comparison  made  with  Germany 
and  Switzerland,  nations  which  have  had  a  compulsory 
system  for  over  thirty  years,  and  in  which  he  declared 
that  he  could  not  find  an  ignorant  child,  go  where  he  might. 
He  adds  that — "  It  is  not  only  that  they  are  not  ignorant, 
or  that,  like  our  own  children,  they  have  attained  to  the  read- 
ing of  a  signboard,  or  the  scrawling  of  a  name, — that  is 


ANTHONY  JOHN  MUNDELLA.        1 39 

not  the  education  which  they  have  enjoyed ;  but  it  is 
an  education  that  is  useful  to  them  in  its  culture  and  in 
its  assistance  in  acquiring  knowledge  in  every  relation 
of  life."  * 

A  biographical  sketch  sa3'S  that — "  Mr.  Mundella's  work 
in  Parliament  has  been  prominently  in  labor,  education,  and 
social  questions.  On  entering  Parliament  he  seconded  the 
address.  His  speech  on  the  second  reading  of  the  Educa- 
tion Bill  was  pronounced  by  Mr.  Gladstone  as  pre-eminently 
the  best  in  the  debate. 

"  His  knowledge  of  the  education  question  has  been  ac- 
quired under  favorable  circumstances.  Fifteen  years  ago 
a  Nottingham  house  established  a  branch  manufacturing 
business  in  Saxony.  This  soon  after  came  to  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Mundella's  iirm,  and  he  has  in  consequence  mastered 
the  German,  Swiss,  and  American  systems  of  education.  In 
1869  he,  jointly  with  Mr.  T.  Hughes,  introduced  a  Trades' 
Union  Bill,  which,  if  passed,  would  have  put  an  end  to  the 
legislative  strife  on  the  question.  He  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining temporary  protection  for  trades'  union  funds  till  the 
following  year.  He  combatted  the  objectionable  clauses  in 
the  Criminal  Law  Amendment  Act,  and  has  worked 
earnestly  for  its  repeal.  He  moved  for  and  obtained  the 
appointment  of  a  Truck  Commission.  In  1S71  he  brought 
in  the  Brickyards'  Bill,  which  he  succeeded  in  incorpora- 
ting with  a  Government  Bill,  enforcing  the  Workshops  Act. 
In  1872  he  carried  the  Arbitration  (Master's  and  Work- 
man's) Bill,  obtained  the  appointment  of  a  Factories  Coni- 

*  Pamphlet  Report,  by  National  Education  League,  Manchester, 
March  9th,  1870. 


140  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

missioner  in   1872,    and   introduced    the    Factories    Nine 
Hours'  Bill,  in  1S71. 

"  Mr.  Mundella  has  a  great  capacity  for  work,  and  can 
and  does  perform  the  labors  of  two  or  three  ordinary  M.P's. 
His  services  on  behalf  of  education  before  he  entered 
Parliament  deserve  special  mention;  and  the  method  of 
arbitration  which  the  working  classes  of  England  have 
already  assented  to,  and  to-day  are  willing  to  substitute  for 
the  expedient  of  strikes  and  lock-outs,  owes  its  origin  and 
success  to  him.  His  career  in  Parliament  has  been  most 
successful.  Being  returned  for  Sheffield  in  1868,  he  at 
once  came  to  the  front  in  the  cause  of  labor  and  won  for 
himself  a  position  amongst  workingmen  which  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten.  The  Session  of  1874  saw  Mr.  Mun- 
della's  efforts  in  Parliament  on  behalf  of  the  "  Factory  Nine 
Hours'  Bill  "  crowned  with  success.  On  May  6,  in  a  full 
House,  he  moved  the  second  reading  of  his  Bill ;  after 
which  the  Home  Secretary  announced  the  intention  of 
the  Government  to  deal  with  the  matter,  and  pass  a  Bill  em- 
bodying Mr.  Mundella's  wishes  ;  to  this  he  consented,  and 
ultimately  a  Bill  was  passed,  which  will  come  into  opera- 
tion on  the  ist  of  January,  1875,  lii'^'^ting  the  hours  of  work  in 
factories  to  fifty-six  a  week,  and  preventing  any  child's  being 
employed  under  ten  years  of  age."* 

This  is  the  measure  opposed  so  energetically  by  Prof. 
Fawcett.  The  member  for  Sheffield,  in  reply  to  the  clmrge 
that  the  reduction  was  not  desired  by  those  whom  it 
would  affect,  declared   that  74  per  cent,  of  all   the  mill 

*  Beehive  "  Portrait  Gallery,"  No.  11,  London,  1874. 


ANTHONY    JOHN    MUNUKLLA...  I4I 

operatives  were  women  and  children,  and  not  ten  per  cent, 
were  even  negative  in  their  support  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  Mundella  has  heartily  supported  Mr.  Plimsoll,  in 
his  efforts  for  legislation  to  secure  protection  to  seamen  ; 
sustained  Mr.  Trevelyan's  bill  to  extend  the  country  fran- 
chise to  the  farm  laborers  ;  and  voted  with  Sir  Chailes  Dilke 
in  favor  of  redistribution  of  seats.  On  the  vote  to  pay  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  India  expenses,  he  was  with  the  majority, 
and.  rather  strongly  protested  against  Mr.  Macdonald's 
assuming  to  be  a  special  representative  of  the  working 
class.  His  defence  of  the  grant  is  very  characteristic  of  the 
feeling  with  which  the  expenses  of  the  crown  are  gener- 
ally regarded  by  English  Liberals.  The  member  for 
Sheffield  said.  "As  long  as  we  had  a  Monarchy  he  should 
be  ashamed  to  have  a  cotton  velvet  or  tinfoil  sort  of 
Monarchy ;  he  did  not  believe  in  a  cheap,  shabby,  Brum- 
magem Monarchy ;  and  he  always  would  give  his  vote  loyally, 
and  in  consistency  with  those  opinions  which  he  believed 
to  be  the  opinions  of  his  constituents." 


IX. 

Alexander  Macdonald. 


^HE  "  Working-man's  Member  "  is  no  longer  a  myth 
or  a  terror  in  English  politics.  As  Mr.  Fawcett  most 
admirably  stated,  in  alluding  to  a  sneer  from  the 
conservative  benches  over  Dr.  Kenealy's  election  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  the  quickest  way  to  make  a  demagogue 
innocuous  or  to  prove  that  a  class  fear  is  without  foundation, 
is  to  bring  either  into  Parliament.  The  appearance  in  "  the 
House  "  of  the  representative  "  v.-orking  man  "  has  made  no 
excitement,  but  has  practically  added  to  the  legislative  capa- 
cit}'  of  that  body.  The  next  election  will,  without  doubt,  see 
several  other  labor  leaders  chosen,  and  in  the  mean  while 
the  two  gentlemen  who  have  secured  seats,  Alexander 
Macdonald  and  Thomas  Burt,  both  men  who  have  credi- 
tably followed  the  occupation  of  mining  coal,  are  not  only 
winning  recognition  for  those  who  are  to  come  on  the 
same  basis,  but  respect  and  place  for  themselves  in  that 
legislative  assembly  which  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
difficult  places  in  which  to  secure  either. 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  I  43 

Alexander  jMacdonalcl  was  born  at  Dalmacoulter,  in 
the  parish  of  New  Monkland,  near  the  town  of  Airdrie,  ten 
miles  east  of  Glasgow.  He  is  now  about  fifty  years  of  age, 
the  eldest  of  sev^en  brothers,  four  of  whom  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States.  One  of  them  acquired  some  dis- 
tinction as  an  officer  of  Union  volunteers  during  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion.  Mr.  Macdonald's  family  is  a  branch 
from  that  powerful  clan  of  that  name,  which  was  all 
but  exterminated  at  CuUoden  Moor,  fighting  in  behalf 
of  the  Jacobite  cause.  His  grandfather,  then  a  lad,  fled 
to  the  lowlands,  where  for  a  time  he  was  quite  fortunate. 
The  elder  Macdonald  was  bound  apprentice  to  the  sea,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  French  war,  being  engaged  at  the 
capturing  of  several  of  the  West  India  Islands  ;  and  later, 
was  taken  prisoner  during  the  war  of  18 12,  by  an  Ameri- 
can privateer.  After  his  release  and  return  to  Scotland, 
he  married  and  pursued  the  occupation  of  a  miner.  His 
eldest  son,  now  Member  of  Parliament  for  Stafford,  began 
his  working  life  in  the  same  laborious  occupation  at  the 
age  of  eight  years.  The  condition  of  the  mining  popula- 
tion in  Scotland  at  the  time  has  been  most  vigorously  por- 
trayed by  Mr.  Macdonald  himself,  in  various  writings  and 
speeches.  One  of  the  latter  was  delivered  at  the  last 
Agricultural  Laborers  Congress,  held  at  Birmingham  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1875,  and  the  miners'  representative 
thus  described  his  early  life,  its  associations,  disabilities, 
and  the  struggle  to  remove  them  from  the  class  with  which 
he  is  identified. 

"  The  occupation  to  which  I  belong  and  from  which  I 
sprang — for  I  entered  the  mine  when  I  was  only  eight 
years  of  age — was  perhaps  one  of  the  lowest  in  condition 


144  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

at  tlie  time.  It  was  at  the  close  of  the  i8th  century  that 
the  miner  in  Scotland  obtained  his  freedom,  for  you  will 
observe  that  previous  to  that  time  he  was  bought  and  sold 
with  the  soil.  It  is  stated  in  the  old  chronicles  of  our 
country  that  blood-hounds  were  kept  to  trace  miners  who 
had  run  away,  and  to  bring  them  back  again.  It  was  ruled 
by  statute  law  that  miners  were  obliged  to  work  nearly  all 
days  in  a  year,  and  if  they  did  not  work,  or  if  they  com- 
mitted any  offence,  they  were  to  be  whipped  on  their 
bodies  for  the  glory  of  God — that  I  cannot  understand — 
and  for  the  good  of  their  masters.  In  1775  a  law  was 
passed  to  try  and  remove  that  state  of  things,  but  the  law 
was  ineffectual,  for  the  strong  grasp  of  the  land-owner  and 
the  mine-owner  (but  chiefly  then  the  land-owners,  because 
they  held  the  minerals)  was  too  powerful,  and  it  was  only 
in  1799  that  an  effective  law  was  passed  to  give  the  work- 
ing miner  of  Scotland  freedom."  *  *  *  When  he  be- 
gan to  labor,  Mr.  Macdonald  said,  "children  worked  in 
the  mines,  male  and  female,  father  and  mothers,  all  together. 
Before  the  year  1825,  our  men  had  to  resort  to  secret 
combinations.  *  *=  *  *  How  were  these  carried  on  ? 
No  man  was  entrusted  with  a  knowledge  of  their  docu- 
ments, and,  as  my  information  goes,  they  were  burned 
secretly.  The  men  then  were  working  unlimited  hours, 
and  a  child  might  have  been  introduced  to  the  mine  at 
the  age  of  one,  if  the  employer  thought  he  could  be  of 
use,  and  the  recklessness  of  the  parent  would  permit. 
*  *  *  How  were  the  children  expelled  from  the  mines  ? 
How  was  it  that  a  law  was  passed  saying  that  no  child  must 
enter  the  mine  before  it  was  12  years  of  age?  Was  it 
through  the  operation  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  ? 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  I 45 

*  *  #  *  Was  it  the  mine-owners  ?  Was  it  the  manu- 
facturers ?  No,  the  men  determined  themselves  that  the 
degrading  position  of  their  daughters,  their  wives,  and 
the  future  mothers,  should  not  continue.  They  went  time 
after  time  to  the  legislature.  I  may  say  that  the  wages 
were  not  paid  for  three  months  together.  *  *  *  Why  ? 
The  employers  fed  them,  they  housed  them,  they  had  a 
paternal  regard  for  them,  which  was  so  very  strong  that 
they  supplied  them  with  food  in  order  that  they  might 
spend  no  money  save  in  the  truck-shops  or  '  tommy-shops.' 
I   ask  you  who  released  these  men  from  that  position  ? 

*  *  *  It  was  the  men  themselves  that  did  it.  They  went 
to  Parliament.  *  -*  *  The  men  agitated.  First  the 
law  of  truck  was  struck  at,  and  next  we  attacked  the  badly 
ventilated  mines.  Year  after  year  we  went  to  Parliament, 
and  we  worked,  step  by  step,  until  now.  I  venture  to  say 
that  our  position,  as  a  class,  so  far  as  our  boys  are  con- 
cerned, is  the  first  of  any  body  of  laborers  in  the  civilized 
world." 

The  early  years  of  the  member  for  Stafford  were  filled 
with  severe  toil,  and  arduous  efforts  to  obtain  an  education. 
His  mother  watched  and  worked  for  every  opportunity  to 
send  him  to  school.  He  attended  in  the  evenings  for 
several  years,  during  which  the  working  day  was  fifteen 
hours  long.  The  effect  of  these  exertions  decided  the 
work  of  his  life.  He  was  a  leader  of  his  class  before  he 
w^as  of  age,  taking  in  1842,  an  active  part  in  a  great  strike, 
and  having  some  time  before  been  prominent  in  the  agitation 
by  which  Parlianient,  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of  the  Ear! 
of  Shaftesbury  (then  Lord  Ashley)  was  induced  to  pass  an 
7  10 


146  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

act  forbidding  the  employment  of  women  in  thie  mines.  The 
same  act  forbade  the  working  of  boys  under  thirteen,  and 
abolished  the  compulsory  apprenticeship  of  pauper  children 
to  this  employment.  Mr.  Macdonald  was  also  prominent, 
at  this  time,  in  the  first  formidable  agitation  for  eight  hours 
as  a  legal  day's  work.  At  the  close  of  1842,  he  determined 
to  fit  himself  for  the  University  and  then  to  enter  and  pur- 
sue one  of  the  learned  professions.  Six  years  after,  in 
1848,  he  enrolled  himself  a  student  at  the  University  of 
Glasgow,  and  pursued  his  studies  during  the  session  of 
that  and  the  following  year,  working  at  mining  during  the 
summer,  and  thereby  maintaining  himself  and  helping  his 
mother  and  brothers.  He  continued  active  in  support  of 
his  fellow-miners'  movements.  In  1850,  and  for  several 
years  thereafter,  Mr.  Macdonald  taught  school,  and  so 
continued  until  a  wide-spread  agitation  for  the  abolition  of 
the  truck  system,  and  a  batch  of  kindred  abuses  and 
oppressions,  recalled  him  to  class  leadership,  and  ended, 
for  the  time  being,  in  the  passage  of  a  better  mining  act. 
Tw^o  other  acts,  chiefly  relating  to  the  protection  of  life  in 
the  mines,  were  passed  in  i860  and  1862,  mainly  through 
the  persistent  agitation  of  Mr.  Macdonald.  Before  this, 
he  had  come  to  be  regarded,  not  only  as  the  foremost 
leader  of  the  miners,  but  as  a  trustworthy  authority  on 
all  matters  relating  to  the  working,  ventilation,  etc.,  of  the 
mines  and  the  protection  of  those  who  were  employed  in 
them. 

To  the  exertions  and  forecast  of  "  the  miners'  mem- 
ber," as  Mr.  Macdonald  is  termed,  is  largely  due  the  or- 
ganization, not  only  of  the  Miners'  Union  in  Scotland,  but 
of  their  National  Union,  of  which  he  has  been  the   Presi- 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  1 47 

dent  since  its  formation.  A  conference  looking  to  that 
end  was  held  at  Ashton-under-Lynie,  in  1S57.  In  1863 
another  conference  was  convened,  and  the  National  Union 
formed.  At  the  present  time  this  body  is  a  federation  of 
twenty-three  distinct  societies  and  represents  a  member- 
ship of  137,956  miners.  Its  funds  were  reported  in  1874 
to  be  ;^i57,S6i.  The  objects  are  stated  to  be  the  follow- 
ing :— 

Better  legislation  for  the  management  of  mines ;  to 
protect  the  miners'  lives,  promote  their  health  and  improve 
their  condition  generally ;  to  obtain  compensation  where 
employers  are  liable  for  accidents ;  to  assist  branches  and 
members  when  either  is  unjustly  dealt  with  ;  to  aid  them 
against  all  lock  outs ;  to  encourage  the  raising  of  local 
funds  for  the  aid  of  permanently  disabled  miners,  and  to 
give  a  weekly  allowance  to  disabled  or  aged  members 
untit  to  work. 

Conferences  are  held  every  six  months,  or  twelve 
months.  The  Northumberland  Society,  of  which  Thomas 
Burt,  member  for  Morpeth,  is  secretary,  belong  to  the 
federation  and  numbers  18,000  members,  with  a  fund  of 
;^22,5oo.  That  of  Durham  has  40,000.  The  West  York- 
shire district  has  12,000  members,  and  the  others  from 
6000  down  to  600.  Not  over  one  half  the  Miner's  Unions 
are  represented  in  the  National  Organization,  but  the  pro- 
babilities of  a  complete  federation  are  growing.  One  con- 
sequence of  this  formidable  propaganda,  is  the  creation  of 
"Joint  Committees"  in  the  more  important  mine  districts. 
These  bodies  are  given  certain  legislative  functions  in  re- 
gard to  the  local  arrangement  of  mines,  etc.,  and  consist 
of  six  miners  and  six  mining  engineers.    The  voting  po'.vor 


148  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

is  equal,  but  it  is  seldom  that  their  deliberations  fail  ol 
satisfactory  result." 

Another  feature  of  the  movements  of  which  Mr.  Mac- 
donald  is  a  leader,  is  the  quite  general  acceptance  of  the 
]:)lan  of  arbitration.  In  the  North  of  England  coal  districts 
there  are  regular  boards,  now  fully  established  and  working 
effectively,  through  which  agency  labor  disputes  are  in  gen- 
eral amicably  arranged.  The  board  or  court  usually  con- 
sists of  an  equal  number  of  workmen  and  employers,  with 
some  person  selected  by  both  to  preside.  So  far  has  this 
plan  been  carried,  that  in  common  with  the  more  import- 
ant iron  mining  and  working  districts,  power  is  given  these 
boards  by  both  parties  to  fix,  at  stated  periods,  the  rates 
of  wages,  and  to  make  other  necessary  regulations. 
Through  these  causes  there  may  be  found  in  the  min- 
ing, iron-working,  and  manufacturing  districts,  among  the 
working  operatives,  men  whose  knowledge  of  the  mar- 
kets, their  ruling  rates,  etc.,  is  in  e\'ery  way  accurate  and 
extensive.  Men  like  Mr.  Macdonald,  j\Ir.  Burt,  Mr. 
Halliday,  and  others  who  are  recognized  as  labor  lead- 
ers, have  been  trained  in  a  thoroughly  practical  school, 
and  have  become  experts  and  specialists  of  a  high  order 
of  nif-'iit. 

TJie  Pjcsident  of  the  National  Miners'  Union  has 
always  been  a  strenuous  advocate  of  arbitration,  as  well  as 
other  means  of  education  and  conciliation  which  will  help 
in  bringing  to  an  end  the  quarrels  between  Labor  and 
Capital.  In  a  speech  made  during  1875,  '""^  argued 
that — 

"  Employers  and  employed  are  engaged  in  a  joint 
enterprise  :  that  joint  enterprise  results  in  sending  a  certain 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  1 49 

commodity  to  market  which  the  public  buy,  and  they  receive 
in  return  —  both  employers  and  workmen  —  a  certain 
amount  of  money.  That  amount  is  to  be  divided  between 
the  owners  of  the  collieries  and  the  workmen  ;  and  I  con. 
tend  that  when  the  division  has  to  be  readjusted,  the 
workmen  have  a  perfect  right  to  know  how  the  readjust- 
ment is  to  take  place,  and  the  employers  have  not  a  right 
to  make  this  reduction  in  an  arbitrary  manner.  If  the 
workmen  resent  the  reduction,  then,"  said  Mr.  Macdonald, 
"  the  employers  in  the  public  interest  are  bound  to  submit 
the  matter  to  arbitration.  I  don't  want  to  destroy  any- 
thing," he  said ;  "  I  want  to  bring  about  that  which  will 
give  peace  and  security ;  I  want  to  effect  that  which  will 
give  working  men  and  employers  contentment  in  the  future, 
enabling  them  to  settle  peacefully  and  fairly  whatever  dis- 
putes may  arise,  instead  of  by  the  old  brutal  method  of 
strikes  and  lock-outs." 

The  following  resolution  was  reported  by  the  speaker 
and  passed  with  others  of  a  similar  character  : — 

"  This  Conference  strongly  recommends  the  establishment  of 
Boards  of  Arbitration  and  Conciliation,  supported  by  sound  organiza- 
tion, together  with  co-operative  collieries,  as  the  best  means  of  ar- 
riving at  the  true  interest  of  capital  and  labor,  invested  in  the  mines 
of  the  nation,  as  this  Conference  is  of  opinion  that  until  this  be  ac- 
complished, strikes  and  lock-outs  will  occur,  and  the  rights  of  the 
workmen  be  entirely  ignored  by  a  large  number  of  employers." 

Mr.  Macdonald,  while  closely  attending  to  the  public 
and  parliamentary  interests  of  his  laboring  clients,  finds 
time  to  take  active  interest  in  the  political  reforms  in  pro- 
gress. He  early  advocated  the  participation  of  the  Trades' 
Unions,  as  such,  in  political  demonstrations.     Some  of  his 


150  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Strongest  speeches  have  been  made  at  their  meetings.  He 
was  a  candidate  for  the  House  in  1868,  canv-assing  the  Scotch 
borough  of  Kihnarnock.  It  is  claimed  that  in  order  to 
prevent  his  election,  employers  quite  generally  began  to 
discharge  such  of  their  workmen  as  supported  him.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  personal  suffering  consequent  on  this, 
Mr.  Macdonald  withdrew  from  the  canvass.  Since  then  he 
has  twice  visited  the  United  States,  travelling  extensively 
therein. 

At  the  Nottingham  Trades'  Union  Congress  in  1872, 
and  at  subsequent  annual  meetings  of  that  body,  he  was 
elected  chairman  of  its  parliamentary  committee.  At 
the  last  general  election  he  was  elected  to  the  House 
of  Commons  from  the  Borough  of  Stafford,  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  poll.  In  Parliament  he  at  once  found  a 
prominent  place,  representing,  as  he  practically  does,  so 
much  larger  a  constituency  than  the  one  that  elected  him. 
At  the  last  Trades'  Congress,  held  in  Liverpool,  January 
16,  1874,  he  was   among  the  most  prominent  members.* 

*  It  may  be  well  to  state  the  representative  character  of  vhe  British 
Trades'  Union  Congress.  At  the  Liverpool  sessions  there  were  pre- 
sent 280  delegates,  representing  over  loo  Unions,  and  representing  a 
membership  of  nearly  700,000,  several  Unions  and  Trades'  Councils, 
numbering  from  20,000  to  140,000.  Among  those  in  attendance,  be- 
sides Mr.  Macdonald,  M.P.,  were  Mr.  Burt  and  Mr.  PlimsoU,  M.P.'s. 
Mr.  Henry  Crompton,  a  well-known  Positivist,  Lloyd  Jones,  Joseph 
Arch,  George  Odger,  and  others.  The  objects  for  discussion  therein 
and  agitation  during  the  ensuing  year,  were  stated  to  be, — The  repeal 
of  the  several  enactments  which  removed  Trades'  combinations  and 
the  matter  of  contract  between  a  wages-laborer  and  an  employer,  out 
of  the  general  law,  and  provided  specially  for  the  class  affected.  This 
has  since  been  accomplished.  Also,  consideration  by  Parliament  of  what 


ALEXANDER  MACDONALD.  I51 

As  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Macdon- 
aid,  like  his  fellow-member,  Mr.  Burt,  the  member  from 
Morpeth,  formerly  a  working  miner,  has  declared  that 
he  does  not  consider  himself  bound  to  represent  work- 
ing-class interests  only.  He  has  taken  quite  an  active 
part  in  debates  on  education,  taxation,  church,  and  other 
matters,  serving  on  the  Trades'  Inquiry  Commission,  be- 
sides being  a  hard  worker  on  the  Coal  Trade  and  other 
Committees,  and  in  attendance  with  frequent  delegations 
on  Ministers.  The  witty  writer,  who  under  the  name  of 
"  The  member  for  the  Chiltern  Hundreds,"  has  described 
the  House  of  Commons,  does  not  appear  to  like  the  mem- 
ber for  Stafford,  and  thus  gently  satirizes  him  over  the  com- 
pliment he  pays  to  Mr.  Burt:  ''Mr.  Burt  has,  he  himself 
proclaims,  w^orked  as  a  miner  in  Choppington  Colliery. 
He  looks  like  what  he  is,  and  speaks  wdth  the  most  re- 
markable accent  ever  heard  within  the  walls  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  But  he  bears  himself  modestly,  shows  a 
perfect  command    of  the  subject  he  discusses,  and  is  short 

limit  should  be  placed  upon  the  summary  jurisdiction  of  magistrates, 
which  deprives  citizens  of  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  and  an  inquiry  by 
a  royal  commission  as  to  the  whole  subject  of  the  unpaid  magistracy 
and  their  powers.  Reduction  of  the  qualification  of  jurj-men,  to 
admit  workmen  to  discharge  the  civic  duties  of  jurj-men,  and  payment 
for  the  duties  so  discharged ;  alteration  of  the  law  so  that  workmen  or 
their  families  may  be  able  to  sue  employers  in  the  event  of  injury  or 
death  from  accidents  due  to  negligence ;  a  workshops  regulation  bill 
for  women  and  children,  and  the  extension  of  the  Factory  Act  to 
bleaching  and  dyeing  works ;  an  act  to  prevent  truck,  by  making  com- 
pulsory weekly  payments  to  workmen  in  the  current  coin  of  the  realm 
and  last,  an  act  for  the  better  protection  of  seamen's  lives  by  prevent 
ing  the  sending  of  ill-found  and  unseaworthy  vessels  to  sea 


152  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

and  pithy  in  his  treatment  of  it.  *  *  *  Xo  one  can 
complain  that  Mr.  MacdonaJd,  the  second  professional 
'  workingman's  candidate,'  is  tiresome  in  his  reminders 
of  his  earlier  status.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Miners'  As- 
sociation for  Scotland  and  president  of  the  Miners'  Na- 
tional Association,  if  you  please  ;  but  not  a  working  man. 
*  *  *  Mr.  Burt  is  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  the  seats 
usually  filled  by  the  rank  and  file  of  Irish  members.  But 
no  position  less  prominent  than  the  front  seat  below  the 
gangway,  and  no  companionship  less  distinguished  than 
that  of  Mr.  Fawcett,  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  Lord  Edmund  Fitz- 
maurice,  and  Mr.  Roebuck  will  suit  Mr.  Macdonald  ;  and 
as  he  stands  fully  a  pace  forward  on  the  floor  of  the  House, 
with  right  hand  on  hip,  buff-coloured  waistcoat  fully  dis- 
played, and  a  respectable-looking  slip  of  paper  lightly  held 
in  his  left  hand,  one  might,  without  incurring  just  rebuke 
for  the  error,  take  him  for  a  prosperous  pastrjxook  or  even 
a  luxurious  linendraper.  His  discourse,  too,  would  foster 
the  illusion,  having  in  it  no  more  of  the  pith  and  marrow  of 
Mr.  Burt's  simple  speech  than  his  voice  has  of  the  North- 
umbrian miner's  deep  burr,  or  his  manner  of  that  winning- 
ness  which  is  born  not  so  much  from  the  sort  of  feeling 
that  animated  the  rhetorical  yeoman, 

'Too  proud  to  care  from  whence  he  ;ame,' 

as  from  the  unconsciously  expressed  conviction  that  after 
all  the  thing  is  not  what  the  father  was  or  what  the  youth 
may  have  been,  but  what  the  man  is."  * 

Mr.   Macdonald  is  a  man    just    above    the    medium 

*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  pp.  197-9. 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  I  53 

height,  broad  shouldered,  full  chested  and  compactly 
built.  He  has  strongly  marked  features,  with  high 
cheek  bones,  prominent  nose,  and  somewhat  heavy 
lower  jaw,  manifesting  both  strength  of  will  and 
combativeness.  He  dresses  with  scrupulous  neatness, 
usually  wearing  his  broad-cloth  coat  buttoned  over  the 
breast.  Mr.  Burt  on  the  other  hand  is  a  younger  man,  of 
rather  slender  but  sinewy  figure,  while  his  features  are  re- 
fined and  delicate  in  mould,  and  he  impresses  a  stranger 
as  one  whose  constitution,  naturally  none  too  robust,  has 
been  impaired  by  the  hard  labor  he  has  endured.  The 
impression  given  is  decidedly  favorable.  One  who  saw  both 
gentlemen  at  the  Liverpool  Trades'  Congress  says  in  an 
unpublished  letter,  that  "  Mr.  Macdonald  affected  somewhat 
in  dress  and  attitude  the  member  of  Parliament,  while  Mr. 
Burt  moved  about  with  a  simplicity  and  ease  that  was 
noticeable.  When  speaking  he  appears  to  be  completely 
absorbed  in  his  subject,  so  that  his  entire  forgetfulness  of 
self  and  indifference  to  rhetorical  effect  suffices  in  a  short 
time  to  make  the  hearer  forget  the  Northumbrian  dialect, 
which  is  very  pronounced.  His  powers  of  expression  are 
very  superior,  his  language  simple,  concise  and  well  chosen, 
and  his  style  not  at  all  declamatory.  His  sense  of  the 
ludicrous  is  inarked  and  what  he  says  is  often  enlivened 
by  qui*et  humor."  Of  the  member  for  Stafford,  Mr.  Mac- 
donald, it  is  said  by  the  same  writer  that  "  in  his  speeches  in 
the  body  in  question  he  identified  himself  thoroughly,  and 
apparently  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  with  the  cause  he 
champions,  while  he  manifested  a  decidedly  independent 
spirit  in  the  expression  of  his  own  opinions  on  questions 
upon  which  the  Congress  was  divided  in  sentiment.  He 
7* 


154  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

impresses  one  as  a  man  who  would  make  a  bold  stand  in 
the  face  of  an  adverse  majority,  though  his  combative 
vehemence  and  earnestness  would  doubtless  turn  the  scale 
in  his  favor  in  many  cases  and  enable  him  to  carry  the 
majority  of  a  popular  audience  with  him.  He  speaks 
with  fluency  and  vigor,  but  is  a  little  too  prone  to  declama- 
tion, and  his  language  sometimes  lacks  the  accuracy  and 
polish  incident  to  thorough  scholarship  and  rhetorical  train- 
ing. Despite  a  faint  trace  of  self-consciousness,  or  at  least, 
the  appearance  of  it,  he  produces  on  the  whole  the  im]:)res. 
sion  of  a  strong  and  earnest  character,  and  seems  well 
calculated  to  wield  a  large  and  commanding  influence  over 
the  minds  of  the  class  with  which  his  life  has  been  so  close- 
ly .identified." 

Mr.  Macdonald  does  not  seem  to  have  the  faculty  of 
winning  the  approval  of  his  opponents — a  circumstance 
which  does  not  detract  from  the  esteem  of  his  supporters 
and  may  doubtless  be  regarded  as  a  proof  of  the  sincerity 
and  courage  with  which  his  views  are  presented.  The 
London  World,  a  free  lance  in  critical  journalism,  de- 
scribes him  with  a  decided  touch  of  acerbity  in  writing  of  the 
part  he  took  in  the  debates  relative  to  the  Labor  legisla- 
tion of  the  last  session  and  in  that  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1875, 
relating  to  the  expenses  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  his  Indian 
trip.  Mr.  Macdonald  had  declared  that  every  such  grant 
did  more  to  make  the  English  workingmen  disloyal  than 
all  the  efforts  of  Republican  agitators,  and  spoke  of  him- 
self as  representing  that  class.  The  writer  in  the  World, 
whose  articles  read  like  those  of  the  witty  author  of  "  Men 
and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  first  compliments  Mr.  Burt, 
the  member  for  Morpeth, "as  "  a  real  and  substantial  addi- 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  I  55 

tion  to  the  representative  power  and  character  of  the  House 
of  Commons,"  and  says  that  "  his  sterling  merit  receives  the 
acknowledgment  of  respectful  and  interested  attention 
whenever  he  wishes  to  speak,  in  the  most  fastidious,  aris- 
tocratic, and  uncompromisingly  critical  assembly  in  the 
world."  He  then  dissects  the  member  for  Stafford  in  a 
strain  which  if  racy,  cannot  be  considered  as  complimen- 
tary : 

"  Mr.  Macdonald,  the  other  titular  working  man's  re- 
presentative, is  much  better  known  and  far  less  liked.  I 
do  not  know  whether  he  ever  worked  with  his  hands  in  the 
sense  that  Mr.  Burt,  if  he  boasted  at  all,  might  claim  to 
have  done,  but  I  should  say  not.  He  has  communicated 
to  the  undoubting  'Dod'  the  interesting  fact  that  he  was 
'  educated  at  Glasgow  University,'  from  which  I  gather 
that  neither  grammar  nor  good  manners  forms  a  portion  of 
the  training  received  at  that  renowned  institution.  Mr. 
Macdonald  would  probably  feel  insulted  if  he  were  regard- 
ed as  a  working  man,  but  it  is  impossible  to  consider  him 
as  a  gentleman.  There  is  about  him  a  vulgarity  which- 
has  a  touch  of  originality  in  it,  even  as  the  position  he  as- 
sumes is  without  precedent.  Mr.  David  Davies,  the  mem- 
ber for  Cardigan,  though  not  professionally  a  working 
man's  candidate,  is,  as  he  has  often  told  the  House,  a  man 
who  once  lived  by  the  labour  of  his  hands.  He  was,  I 
have  heard,  a  sawyer,  and  I'll  wager  our  time  against  that 
of  Greenwich  that  he  was  a  top-sawyer.  Mr.  Davies  has 
not  much  of  a  drawing-room  air  about  him,  and  he  speaks 
the  English  of  Llanfairfechan.  But  no  man  feels  uncom- 
fortable in  his  company,  for  the  simple  reason   that  he   is 


156  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

at  ease  with  himself,  being  strong  in  the  sense  of  liis  own 
honest  intention,  and  careless  about  what  other  people  are 
thinking  of  him.  Mr.  Macdonald  is  as  uneasy  as  a  barn- 
door fowl  that  has  borrowed  for  use  a  peacock's  tail,  and 
goes  in  mortal  fear  lest  it  should  fall  off.  He  is  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  unrest,  torn  by  the  conflicting  emotions  of 
desire  that  every  one  should  see  the  tail,  and  dread  lest 
some  one  should  observe  the  stitches  by  which  it  is  fasten- 
ed on.  See  him  now,  whilst  Lord  Elcho  is  speaking  on 
Mr.  Cross's  Employers  and  Workmen  Bill !  He  might 
have  found  an  opportunity  of  delivering  his  own  empt}'  and 
ill-made  phrases  half  an  hour  ago  ;  but  observing  Lord 
Elcho  with  a  bundle  of  notes  in  hand,  he  crossed  over,  and 
sitting  down  in  the  gangway  simmering  with  satisfaction 
at  thus  holding  easy  converse  with  a  live  lord  who  will 
some  day — thank  Heaven — be  a  peer,  he  said  he  would 
follow  him,  and  so  secured  the  advantage  of  filling  up  the 
interstices  in  his  talk  by  familiar  references  to  '  the  noble 
lord  opposite.'  Li  the  meanwhile  he  is  sitting  on  the 
front  corner  seat  below  the  gangway,  the  most  prominent 
and  commanding  position  in  the  House  of  Coinmons,  and 
is  leaning  forward  anxiously  waiting  Lord  Elcho's  sitting 
down,  the  signal  for  his  own  uprising.  When  the  time 
comes  he  jumps  up  with  ill-disguised  anxiety,  lest  tlie 
Speaker  should  name  some  one  else,  and  so  deprive  him 
of  the  satisfaction  of  speaking  in  a  debate  in  succession  to 
a  noble  lord.  This  anxiety  set  at  rest  by  the  Speaker's 
complaisance,  he  begins  with — '  Mr.  Speaker, — Sir,'  and 
proceeds  in  an  irritatingly  impressive  way  to  say  nothing, 
interspersed   with    sickening   iteration    of    the   unctuous 


OIHIi.   Iiuiiiiini-  wwi"»«»^ 

Los  Angeles  Cat. 
ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  I57 

phrases,  '  the  right  hon.  gentleman  at  the  'ead  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,'  '  the  right  hon.  gentleman  the 
'Ome  Secretary,'  '  the  noble  lord  opposite,'  and  '  the  R'y'l 
Commission  of  which  I  believe  I  had  the  honour  to  be  a 
member.'  Of  counsel,  of  information,  or  of  suggestion, 
Mr.  Macdonald's  speeches  in  the  House  of  Commons  arc 
absolutely  void.  That  tail,  being  a  foreign  substance,  is 
always  tickling  him  and  recalling  his  attention  to  himself. 
If  you  listen  to  his  speeches  you  will  observe  that  he  some- 
times says  '  we,'  but  his  favorite  construction  of  sentence 
involves  the  constant  use  of  the  pronoun  in  its  singular 
number.  It  was  a  strikingly  characteristic  of  him  that  when 
the  Royal  Commission  on  the  Labour  Laws  came  to  draw  up 
their  report  he  should  have  dissented  from  the  conclusions. 
If  you  examine  the  expression  of  dissent  you  will  find  that 
there  is  very  little  in  it,  and  nothing  at  all  that  could  by 
any  construction  offend  the  noble  lord  and  other  distin- 
guished persons  with  whom  he  had  the  lifelong  pleasure  of 
being  temporarily  associated.  But  it  was  necessary  that 
the  tail  should  be  brought  out  and  spread  in  this  highly 
advantageous  position.  To  be  one  of  the  '  we '  who  de- 
clare the  judgment  of  a  Royal  Commission  was  satisfac- 
tory ;  but  to  be  the  '  I,'  with  a  whole  paragraph  to  your- 
self, indicating  less  that  you  are  wiser  than  your  fellows, 
and  a  truer  friend  of  the  working  classes — ^for  Mr.  Mac- 
donald's vanity  does  not  take  even  that  comparatively  ro- 
bust form — than  that  you  were  there,  a  person  duly  and 
specially  authorized  by  her  Majesty  to  make  an  inquiry  in 
her  august  name,  and  that  you  sat  at  the  same  table  on  a 
footing  of  ceremonious  equality  with  a  'noble  lord,'  this 


15^  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

was  something  worth  living  for,  and  as  a  last  lingering  grip 
of  the  fleeting  honour — the  ultimate  drop  in  the  cup  of  your 
wonted  luxury— we  had  this  paragraph  all  to  itself,  lifting 
Alexander  Macdonald  out  of  the  ranks  and  placing  him 
on  a  pedestal  where  the  tail  might  be  soothingly  spread 
out  in  the  winking  sunshine  that  pretended  not  to  see  the 
stitches." 

The  London  Beehive,  under  date  of  July  24th,  comes 
to  the  defence  of  Mr.  Macdonald,  in  a  manner  not  less 
vigorous  than  the  critic's  assault.  Being  the  official  organ 
of  the  English  Trades'  Societies,  its  views  are  significant 
as  to  the  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Macdonald  is  held  by  a 
common  constituency.  It  describes  the  World  as  "  not 
absolutely  a  scandalous  production,"  but  as  one  that  seek- 
ing "  out  commercial  and  other  cognate  immoralities" 
revels  in  their  exposure  "with  a  piquancy  of  phrase"  which 
is  sensational.  It  protests  against  the  "  smart  exaggera- 
tion" by  which  it  seeks  to  injure  the  "  usefulness"  of  the 
"  labor  representatives"  and  adds: 

"  We  think  it  may  be  said  that  the  constituencies  that 
returned  Mr.  Macdonald  and  Mr.  Burt  to  the  House  of 
Commons  were  not  particular — in  fact,  cared  nothing — as 
to  the  intonation  of  their  words,  nor  did  they  trouble 
themselves  as  to  provincial  phraseology  or  accent ;  they 
did  not  scan  too  closely  the  agreement  of  nouns  and  verbs, 
or  other  peculiarities  by  no  means  confined  to  the  working 
men  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  of  which 
Messrs.  Macdonald  and  Burt  are  far  from  being  the  ex- 
tremest  examples  in  the  House.  The  working  men  want 
realities  rather  than  semblances,  men  who  will   speak  out 


ALEXANDER    MACDONALD.  I  59 

plainly  in  the  manner  natural  to  them,  the  thoughts,  the 
wishes,  and  the  wants  of  their  class,  not  mincing  dealers 
out  of  pretty  and  correct  sentences." 

The  praise  given  to  Mr.  Burt  is  spoken  of  as  being  "  as 
unnecessary  as  it  is  tardy  and  insincere.  Its  censure  of 
Mr.  Macdonald  may  be  replied  to  in  the  same  way.  The 
working  men  of  Stafford  did  not  know  nor  did  they  care 
what  such  men  as  those  who  write  in  the  World  might 
think  about  the  appearance,  the  manner,  or  the  language 
of  Mr.  Macdonald." 

As  to  Mr.  Macdonald's  pursuits  and  education,  the 
Beehive  writer  says  that  the  working  men  know  that  he  has 
labored  with  his  hands,  and  that  he  "has  never  in  any 
way  tried  to  conceal  the  fact ;  but  upon  all  necessaiy  and 
fitting  occasions  has  made  it  known.  Nor  does  Mr.  Mac- 
donald claim  to  have  a  full  University  education.  He 
simply  makes  known  the  fact  that  out  of  his  earnings  as  a 
miner,  he  struggled  to  give  himself  something  of  the  ad- 
vantages desirable  from  the  University  of  his  native  dis- 
trict. The  attempt  was  creditable,  and  the  success  not  to 
be  questioned,  when  the  detracting  and  cramping  toil  of 
the  mine  is  taken  into  account,  as  well  as  the  other  de- 
pressing circumstances  attending  the  daily  trials  of  a 
workingman's  life.  But  upon  what  he  acquired  as  educa- 
tion in  Glasgow  University,  Mr.  Macdonald  has  never 
rested  any  claim  to  the  support  of  the  working  classes. 
His  claims  are  far  better  founded.  They  rest  on  tasks 
voluntarily  entered  on,  perseveringly  pursued,  and  success- 
fully accomplished,  for  the  amelioration  of  the  class  of 
workers  amidst  which  his  lot  was  cast.     He  labored  to 


l6o  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

rescue  women  and  young  children  from  the — to  them — de- 
moralizing, degrading,  and  crushing  toil  of  the  mine  ;  to 
shorten  the  hours  of  labour  for  men,  improve  generally 
the  conditions  under  which  they  worked,  and  to  increase 
the  payment  received  for  their  labour,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence to  augment  the  comfort  of  their  homes." 


X. 

Thomas   Brassey. 


HE  member  for  Hastings  is  an  example  of  a 
man  not  dwarfed  by  having  had  a  very  capable 
and  even  distinguished  father.  The  positivist 
phrase  "  Captain  of  Industry  "  is  often  used  in  a 
meaningless  way,  but  personally  applied  to  men  like  the 
Brasseys,  father  and  son,  it  possesses  an  admirable  appro- 
priateness. The  father  was  notable  for  having  been  one  of 
the  earliest  and  largest  of  railroad  contractors  and  employers. 
But  he  is  more  noticeable  also  for  having  been  among  the 
largest,  but  as  is  generally  agreed, one  of  the  fairest  employers 
of  labor  to  be  found  in  his  day  and  generation.  The  son  has 
followed  his  father's  example  in  spirit,  if  not  in  fact,  by 
devoting  a  great  deal  of  practical  knowledge,  wide  experi- 
ence and  finely  cultured  capacity,  to  the  introduction  of  a 
better  mode  of  dealing  wdth  labor,  in  law  and  society,  in 
business  and  government  alike. 

Of  late,  the  character  and  work  of  the  Brasseys.  father 
and  son  have  been  made  quite  widely  known.     The  first 
II 


1 62  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

has  been  introduced  to  the  public  by  Sir  Arthur  Helps' 
attractive  biography ;  and  the  last  by  his  own  writings, 
besides  legislative,  and  other  public  efforts,  bearing  on  the 
relations  of  labor  to  capital  and  to  society  in  general.  * 
John  Ruskin  seems  almost  to  have  had  the  senior  Brassey  in 
his  mind  when  he  wrote  of  "  mastership  "  to  his  artisan 
friend,  Thomas  Dixon,  cork-cutter  of  Sunderland,  the  second 
of  the  remarkable  letters,  since  published  in  a  collected 
form,  t  Ruskin  says  ;  "  there  are  just  and  unjust  master- 
ships ; "  and  adds,  that  though  co-operation  is  better  than  the 
latter,  "  there  is  very  great  room  for  doubt  whether  it  be  better 
than  a  just  and  benignant  mastership.  "  He  thinks  that  the 
wages  system  might  be  made  so  just  that  it  should  be  "  suffi- 
cient and  regular  "  to  each  "  according  to  his  rank ; "  that  by 
it  "  due  provision  shall  be  made  out  of  the  profits  of  the 
business  for  sick  and  superannuated  workers ;  and  by 
which  the  master,  being  held  7'esponsible  as  a  minor  king  or 
governor  for  the  conduct  as  well  as  comfort  of  all  those 
under  his  rule,  shall  on  that  condition  be  permitted  to  retain 
to  his  own  use  the  surplus  profits  of  the  business  which  the 
fact  of  his  being  master  may  be  assumed  to  prove  that 
he  has  organized  by  superior  intellect  and  energy." 

The  elder  Thomas  Brassey  was  among  the  first  persons 
in  England  to  enter  regularly  into  the  business  of  railway 
construction,  which  he  did  in  1834,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  elder  Stephenson.     At  that  time,  this  sort  of  work  had 

*  "  Bras-jey's  Life  and  Labors."      Arthur  Helps,  Roberts,  Boston. — 
"  On  Work  and  Wages."     Thomas  Brassey,  Bell  &  Daldy,  London. — 
"Articles  on  Co-operation."     Contemporary Rroiew,  London. 
"t  "  Time  and  Tide."    John  Wiley,  New  York,  pp.  6,  7. 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  I  63 

not  "  begun  to  run  in  grooves,  *  *  *  but  required  new 
modes  of  operation,  and  tlie  creation  of  skilled  labor  of  a 
new  kind  ;  also  the  management  of  larger  bodies  of  men 
than  hitherto  had  been  brought  together  for  public  works,  and 
a  more  rapid  movement  of  these  armies  of  laboring  men, 
from  place  to  place,  than  had  ever  been  requisite."  *  Mr. 
Brassey  continued  actively  engaged  in  this  business  until 
1870, — a  period  of  twenty-eight  years,  during  which  time  he 
contracted  for,  and  constructed  6,498^  miles  of  railroad, 
more  than  two-thirds  of  which  was  in  other  countries  than 
his  own.  He  constructed  roads  in  France,  Germany,  Italy, 
Switzerland,  European  Turkey,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Spain, 
Austria,  Russia,  the  East  Indies,  the  Australian  Colonies, 
South  America  and  Canada.  The  variety  and  extent  of 
these  operations  have  given  the  greatest  value  to  his 
experience  in  the  management  of  labor  and  to  the  testi- 
mony borne  by  himself  and  by  his  sons.  Mr.  Brassey  handled 
enormous  sums  during  his  business  life,  amounting,  his 
biographer  states,  to  "  seventy-eight  millions  "  (pounds) 
"  of  other  people's  money,  and  upon  that  outlay  retained 
about  two  millions,  and  a  half.  The  rest  of  his  fortune 
consisted  of  accumulations. "t  His  profit  never  exceeded 
three  per  cent.  It  is  recorded  of  him  that  he  never  had 
but  one  lawsuit,  was  never  knowingly  wronged  by  an  agent 
or  employee  in  any  money  transaction,  was  always  enlarging 
the  compensation  of  those  who  worked  under  him,  when 
they  made  extra  exertions,  or  when  it  was  evident  that 
their  industry,    skill    and   enterprise   had   largely   carried 

*  Helps'  "Life  of  Brassey,"  p.  27. 
t  "  Life  of  Brassey,"  p.  158. 


l6  4-  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

through  a  successful  contract ;  that  he  dechned  all  honors 
or  public  position,  and  always  bore  his  testimony  to  the 
good  conduct  of  workmen  when  properly  treated.  In  truth 
a  perusal  of  Arthur  Helps'  work  will  illustrate  what  Auguste 
Comte  must  have  had  in  view  when  he  urged  that  the 
"  Captains  of  Industry"  were  to  be  the  future  leaders  of 
the  civilized  world,  and  that  moral  force  itself  would  be 
the  best  law  to  keep  them  in  the  highways  of  just  dealing 
and  fair  stewardship.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine 
young  men  becoming  sordid  and  mean,  or  mere  drones, 
wdio  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  reared  in  such  an  atmos- 
phere as  that  of  the  Brassey  household. 

The  eldest  son,  Thomas  Brassey,  now  member  for 
Hastings,  was  born  at  Stafford  in  1837,  and  is  therefore 
in  his  thirty-eighth  year.  His  father  was  born  in  1805,  at 
Buerton,  in  the  parish  of  Aldford,  in  Cheshire.  He  was 
the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Brassey  of  the  same  parish. 
The  family  is  an  ancient  one,  having  owned  and  occupied 
for  nearly  six  centuries  an  estate  of  three  or  four  hundred 
acres,  at  Bulkeley,  Malpas,  Cheshire.  The  Brasseys  are  of 
the  most  direct  Anglo-Norman  stock,  the  founder  of  the 
family  having  been  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  The  Bulkeley  manor  is  still  a  favorite  family 
residence.  In  addition  thereto,  the  grandfather  owned 
land  at  Buerton,  and  also  rented  a  large  farm  from  the 
Marquis  of  Westminster.  Mr.  Brassey,  senior,  was  articled 
at  sixteen  to  a  land  surveyor.  He  early  became  connect- 
ed with  the  management  of  the  property  on  which  Birk- 
enhead, the  flourishing  town  on  the  Cheshire  side  of 
the  Mersey,  near  Liverpool,  was  built.  It  was  the  ac- 
cident of   suppkdng  stone  to  George  Stephenson  for  the 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  1 65 

construction  of  the  Sankey  Viaduct,  on  the  Manchester  and 
Liverpool  Railroad,  that  led  to  Mr.  Brassey's  becoming  a 
contractor.  He  had,  two  years  before,  married  Maria 
Harrison,  daughter  of  a  forwarding  agent  doing  a  large 
business  in  Liverpool.  Mrs.  Brassey  has  survived  her 
husband.  His  biographer  says  :  "  It  is  always  a  difficult 
matter  to  speak  in  praise  of  those  who  are  living,  and  who 
may  not  like  to  read  commendation  of  themselves.  But, 
notwithstanding  this  necessary  reserve,  it  is  but  right  to 
mention  the  fact  that  Mr.  Brassey's  first  connection  with 
railways  was  partly  due  to  the  advice  which  he  received 
from  his  wife."  The  domestic  sacrifices  that  were  imposed 
on  her  by  the  engagements  of  her  husband  can  readily  be 
seen  in  the  frequent  change  of  residence  required  by  them. 

The  eldest  son  was  partly  educated  in  France,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  his  father  was  engaged  there.  The  family 
changed  their  residence  eleven  times  during  the  first  thir- 
teen years  of  Mr.  Brassey's  new  business  career.  These 
changes  and  his  subsequent  necessary  absences  from  home, 
threw  the  entire  charge  of  the  education  of  her  sons  into 
Mrs.  Brassey's  hands,  until  they  were  old  enough  to  gc 
to  the  public  schools  and  the  university.  The  eldest  son 
was  sent  to  Rugby  and  then  to  University  College,  Oxford. 
After  graduating  he  studied  law,  and  was  called  to  the  bar  at 
Lincoln's  Inn  in  1864.  As  he  was  certain  to  inherit  a 
large  fortune,  his  professional  studies  must  have  been 
prompted  chiefly  by  a  desire  to  prepare  himself  thorough- 
ly for  the  public  life  on  which  he  soon  after  entered. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  biography 
of  his  father  is  one  m  which  extracts  are  made  from  letters 
written  lo  Sir  Arthur  Helps  by  the  present  Mr.  Thomas 


I  66  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Brassey,  They  contain  interesting  facts,  delicately  stated, 
in  relation  to  the  character,  tastes,  etc,  of  his  father.  They 
show  also  the  influences  under  which  his  own  mind  has 
been  formed.  He  speaks  of  the  powers  of  observation  his 
father  possessed,  of  the  interest  he  took  in  all  engineering 
projects  and  plans,  of  his  love  for  oratory,  sculpture  and 
fine  architecture,  and  his  careful  obsen'ation  of  the  com- 
mercial and  agincultural  resources  of  the  country  through 
which  he  was  passing.  His  son  says  :  "  Whenever  he 
travelled  abroad  he  was  a  busy  sight-seer.  He  used  to 
visit  the  churches,  the  public  buildings,  the  picture  galleries, 
with  the  keenest  interest.  He  would  seldom  leave  a  great 
city,  though  the  primary  object  would  probably  have  been 
some  matter  of  business,  without  giving  almost  as  much 
attention  to  its  works  of  art  and  its  architectural  monu- 
ments as  the  ordinary  traveller,  whose  only  object  is  the 
love  of  art  or  change  of  scene. 

"  I  remember,  during  my  Rugby  days,  an  agreeable  jour- 
ney with  him  to  the  South  of  France  :  his  object  being  to 
inspect  the  works  on  the  Lyons  and  Avignon  Railway,  at 
that  time  under  construction.  After  he  had  completed  his 
examination  of  the  line,  he  determined  to  devote  a  couple 
of  days  to  an  excursion  from  Avignon  to  Nismes.  On 
our  way  from  the  station  at  Nismes  to  the  hotel,  we  passed 
the  Maison  Carree,  so  justly  celebrated  for  the  exquisite 
character  of  its  architectural  proportions.  I  do  not  think 
he  had  heard  much  about  this  building,  perhaps  he  might 
never  have  heard  of  it  before,  but  he  immediately  appreci- 
ated its  great  beaut}',  and  remained  at  least  half  an  hour 
on  the  spot  that  he  might  examine  that  admirable  monu- 
ment of  ancient  art  from  ever)'  point  of  view."     Mr.  Bras 


THOMAS    BRASSEV.  1 6/ 

sey  speaks  in  discriminating  terms  of  his  father's  love  of 
sculpture  and  admiration  for  porcelain  ;  his  recognition  of 
finely  proportioned  ships  —  yachts  especially  —  and  his 
delight  in  fine  reading  and  good  oratory.  In  politics  the 
elder  Brassey  was  a  Conservative,  but 'never  endeavored  in- 
any  way  to  influence  his  son's  political  opinions.  In  busi- 
ness matters  he  was  always  his  own  amanuensis,  never 
employing  a  short-hand  writer,  until  late  in  life  and  after  a 
stroke  of  paralysis.  No  letters  were  unanswered.  Of  his 
father's  kindliness  of  character,  Mr.  Brassey  says,  that  "  he 
evinced  at  all  times  the  most  anxious  desire  to  assist 
young  men  to  enter  upon  a  career  in  life."  He  always 
urged  "  those  who  sought  his  advice,  to  begin  by  giving  to 
their  sons  a  practical  knowledge  of  a  trade."  He  possess- 
ed great  patience,  a  remarkable  power  of  business  state- 
ment ;  was  kindly  in  judging  of  others,  even  to  a  fault ; 
sought  to  avoid  all  offence  to  those  about  him  ;  accepted 
gracefully,  but  not  servilely,  social  distinctions,  and,  his  son. 
continues :  "  in  all  he  said  or  did,  he  ever  showed  himself  to 
be  inspired  by  that  chivalry  of  heart  and  mind  which  most 
trvily  ennobles  him  who  possesses  it,  and  without  which  one 
cannot  be  a  perfect  gentleman."  The  father,  thus  affec- 
tionately described,  died  December  8,  1870,  and  was  buried 
at  Catsfield,  Sussex.  He  left  a  widow  and  three  sons ; 
Thomas,  then,  as  now,  member  for  Hastings ;  Henry 
Arthur,  the  member  for  Sandwich,  and  Albert. 

Mr.  Thomas  Brassey  entered  the  political  arena  soon 
after  leaving  the  university,  as  an  avowed  liberal,  inde- 
pendent and  moderate.  He  unsuccessfully  contested,  in 
1 86 1,  the  borough  of  Birkenhead,  with  whose  early  prosper 
ity  his  own  family  was  identified.     He  was  returned  for 


1 68  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Davenport  in  1865  ;  but  a  general  election  followed  im- 
mediately, in  which  he  lost  his  seat.  He  was,  however, 
elected  at  Hastings  in  1868,  and  again  in  1874. 

During  his  parliamentary  career,  Mr.  Brassey  has  gen- 
erally acted  with  the  liberal  party,  but  he  has  in  several 
instances  shown  his  independence  by  defending  and  voting 
for  propositions  not  accepted  by  Mr.  Gladstone's  ministry. 
He  has  acted  usually  with  the  advanced  liberals  on  matters 
of  education,  franchise,  and  the  labor  laws.  It  is  his  posi- 
tion in  regard  to  the  relations  of  labor  and  capital,  and  his 
extensive  knowledge  of  practical  matters  that  enter  into 
them,  that  make  his  career  one  of  marked  prominence 
and  gives  him  an  influence  not  usual  in  men  so  young 
in  years  and  public  life.  The  writer  of  the  biograph- 
ical sketches  embodied  in  the  Beehive  "  Portrait  Gallery," 
who  represents  very  closely  the  judgments  and  opinions 
of  intelligent  labor  in  England,  says  of  Mr.  Brassey's  posi- 
tion, that "  he  is  nearly  always  found  on  the  side  of  the  work- 
ingmen,  and,  it  is  needless  to  say,  that  what  he  utters  on 
such  occasions  is  received  with  more  than  ordinary  attention 
by  the  House,  and  tends  powerfully  to  forward  the  just  claims 
of  the  working  people.  To  this  it  may  be  added  that  on 
all  questions  connected  with  labor,  Mr.  Brassey  is  accessible 
to  those  who  act  on  behalf  of  the  workingmen,  and  in  him 
they  always  find  a  safe  and  friendly  adviser. 

"  But  the  most  notable  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Brassey  to  the  labor  movement  in  Great  Britain  was  the 
publication  of  his  instructive  and  important  book,  entitled 
'  Work  and  Wages.'  This  is  not  in  any  sense  a  controver- 
sial work,  and  it  deals  scarcely  at  all  Avith  the  opinions  of 
employers   of  workingmen   as    such.      It   simply  gathe"s 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  -  1 69 

together  the  recorded  experience  of  liis  father's  Hfe,  not 
only  as  a  great  employer  of  labor,  but  as  an  employer  who 
had  carried  on  his  operations  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the 
world  ;  and  it  adds  to  this  recorded  experience  the  results 
of  his  own  careful  study  in  the  chief  fields  of  our  great 
industries,  and  proves  his  case  from  this  in  a  very  clear 
and  masterly  manner.  What  the  importance  of  that  case 
is  to  the  British  workingman  will  be  easily  enough  under- 
stood when  we  state  the  matter  in  dispute  between  capital 
and  labor  to  which  it  refers.  Putting  the  building  trades 
on  one  side,  all  the  great  industries  of  England  are  carried 
on  with  reference  to  foreign  markets,  and  therefore  have 
to  be  regulated  in  regard  to  the  cost  of  production  by  a 
real  or  presumed  foreign  competition.  All  attempts  made 
by  workingmen  to  better  their  condition  by  advanced 
wages  or  shortened  hours  of  labor  in  these  trades  have 
been  met  by  the  cry  that  if  such  demands  were  granted 
we  should  lose  our  trade  through  foreign  competition. 
This  was  the  '  wolf '  always  at  hand  to  alarm  the  timid, 
and  in  this  cry  all  men's  throats  had  become  musical  who 
had  any  pretence  to  be  friends  of  capital  or  students  in  the 
science  of  political  economy.  The  friends  of  workingmen 
who  had  studied  the  question  knew  how  hollow  and  unreal 
all  this  pretended  fear  was.  They  knew  that  Continental 
labor  was  nominally  cheaper,  and  that  Continental  hours 
were  longer ;  but  they  inferred  very  correctly,  from  the 
actual  and  daily  increasing  predominance  of  English 
manufactures  in  foreign  markets,  that  English  labor  was 
practically  more  valuable.  To  them  it  was  clear  that  their 
skill,  energy,  and  perseverance,  in  connection  with  their 
superior   machinery   and   other   advantages,    gave   better 


170  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

results  than  Continental  manufactures  had  obtained  ;  and 
they  knew  also  that  workers  on  the  Continent  were  not 
satisfied  with  their  condition,  and  that  in  regard  to  work 
and  wages  they  were  struggling  to  attain  to  the  British 
artisan's  standard. 

"  Over  and  over  again  these  things  were  urged  by  the 
advocates  of  labor  in  England,  but  the  Press  was  closed 
against  them,  and  their  facts  and  argument,  therefore, 
never  reached  the  ear  of  the  general  public.  In  such 
circumstances  Mr.  Brassey's  book  was  just  what  was 
wanted.  It  was  peculiar  in  its  character,  as  it  drew  its 
facts  from  a  special  source.  Its  logic  was  the  logic  of  life. 
His  father  had  employed  hundreds  of  thousands  of  English- 
men, and  he  had  also  employed  men  in  large  numbers 
belonging  not  only  to  every  country  in  Europe,  but  to 
every  land,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  where  any  great 
works  requiring  skill  or  labor  had  to  be  constructed.  He 
had  not  only  to  employ  the  native  worker  on  the  spot,  but 
had  to  calculate  the  value  of  the  men  of  different  classes 
and  nations,  as  commodities  to  be  imported  or  exported 
for  the  economic  performance  of  the  work  on  hand.  He 
had,  in  fact,  to  look  at  the  question  every  way,  in  the  most 
honest,  practical,  and  unprejudiced  manner,  and  his  deliber- 
ate verdict  was  that,  all  things  considered,  the  labor  of  the 
Englishman  was  the  cheapest  labor  in  the  world.  It  is 
true  he  got  more  wages  and  was  more  his  own  master, 
being  less  amenable  to  arbitrary  dictation  that  any  other 
worker  ;  and  yet  he  was  decidedly  the  cheapest,  when  the 
value  that  he  gave  in  return  for  his  wages  was  properly 
taken  into  account. 

"  We  cannot  here  state  the  variety  of  tests  by  which  Mr. 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  1  7  I 

Brassey  proved  this  in  his  very  valuable  book.  We  state 
simply,  but  most  emphatically,  that  he  did  prove  it  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  leave  no  doubt  on  the  mind  even  of  the  most 
prejudiced,  and  by  doing  so  he  has  put  to  flight  a  phantom 
which  can  now  only  be  called  up  again  by  the  utterly 
ignorant,  or  those  whose  purpose  it  is  to  keep  alive  a  prof- 
itable superstition.  This  is  but  one  out  of  the  many 
valuable  points  in  Mr.  Brassey's  book,  but  it  is  the  one  of 
most  practical  value  to  workingmen  in  reference  to  wages 
and  hours  of  work.  The  labors  of  Mr.  Brassey,  generally 
in  relation  to  questions  of  capital  and  labor,  are  characterized 
by  much  fairness,  and  he  does  not  confine  his  views  to  one 
set  of  questions.  At  the  last  annual  Congress  held  at 
Halifax,*  Mr.  Brassey  presided,  and  delivered  an  inaugural 
address,  characterized  by  great  thoughtfulness,  and  over- 
flowing with  sound  practical  advice  of  the  very  best  kind. 
The  services  rendered  by  Mr.  Brassey  *  *  *  are  willingly 
but  unostentatiously  given.  He  is  a  capitalist,  and  a 
friend  of  capital ;  but  he  is,  beyond  this,  a  friend  of  justice 
and  fair  dealing.  *  *  *  Mr.  Brassey  comes  to  the  side 
of  workingmen  in  this  way,  and  what  he  has  already  done, 
without  a  touch  of  partisanship,  gives  a  cheering  promise 
of  what  he  may  do  in  the  future  to  help  forward  England's 
workers  on  the  grand  path  of  self-improvement  and  self- 
elevation,  along  which  they  are  at  present  moving. 

"  We  have  not  noticed  in  this  brief  sketch  the  study 
which  Mr.  Brassey  has  given  to  nautical  questions  ;  but  he 
is  well  known  by  the  attention  which  he  has  given  to  them, 
and  the  useful  practical  works  he  has  performed  in  relation 

*  Co-operative  congress  of  1873-4. 


172  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

thereto.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Select  Committee 
on  Compulsory  Pilotage.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Unseaworthy  Ships.  He  has  also 
published  pamphlets  on  '  Organization  of  our  Naval 
Reserve,'  and  on  'Recent  Admiralty  Administrations.' 
Mr.  Brassey  has  made  several  voyages,  including  several 
visits  to  the  Mediterranean,  cruises  in  the  Baltic,  and  on 
the  Norwegian  coasts ;  and  has  also  ascended  all  the 
navigable  rivers  on  the  east  coast  of  the  United  States,  to 
the  highest  point  which  can  be  reached  by  sea-going  ves- 
sels. He  is  the  author  of  'Notes  on  Algeria,'  letters 
describing  a  journey  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  as  well  as 
journeys  in  Norway  and  the  United  States.  He  has  also 
published  important  pamphlets  on  Trades'  Unions,  Co- 
operative Production,  Wages,  the  Duty  of  the  Church  in 
relation  to  the  Labor  Question,  and  on  Education  in 
America." 

He  has  been  among  the  contributors  who,  in  the  Fort- 
nightly and  Cofitemporary  Reviews,  have  written  papers 
bearing  on  such  topics  as  are  named  in  the  Beehive 
sketch. 

The  valuable  book  "On  Work  and  W^ages,"  which  is 
referred  to  in  the  foregoing  quotations,  is  worthy  of  careful 
examination.  It  is  written  in  a  liberal  and  comprehensive 
spirit,  and  deals  with  its  chosen  themes  in  a  manner  alto- 
gether different  from  the  usual  tone  of  the  all-wise  editor- 
ial writers  who  seek  to  instruct  the  public  every  time  a  dis- 
pute culminates  in  a  strike,  or  grows  to  the  dignity  of  an 
agitation.  Mr.  Brassey's  little  volume  gives  a  historical 
sketch  of  Trades'  Unions  and  strikes,  and  adds  chap- 
ters on  demand  and  supply,  maintaining  that  the  "  Cost 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  I  73 

of  Labor  cannot  be  determined  by  the  Rate  of  Wages ; " 
comparing  the  "  Industrial  capabiHties  of  different  Nations," 
showing  that  "Dear  Labor  stimulates  Livention;"  discuss- 
ing the  ''Hours  of  Labor"  and  the  "Rise  of  Wages,"  in 
other  countries  tlian  England.  Then  follow  a  "  Comparison 
of  the  Commercial  Progress  of  Nations  ;"  and  a  discussion 
of  the  question  whether  labor  is  becoming  dearer.  The 
"Influence  of  American  wages  on  the  English  labor 
market,"  is  a  valuable  chapter.  Mr.  Brassey  thus  sums 
dp:  "The  influence  of  the  price  of  labor  in  the  United 
States  has  been  felt  in  this  country  (Great  Britain),  and 
no  economist  can  doubt  that  it  will  soon  be  felt  in  those 
branches  of  industr}-  in  Germany  in  which  the  wages  are 
so  much  below  the  English  rates  of  pay."*  Mr.  Brassey's 
concluding  chapters  discuss  the  "Alleged  Physical  De- 
terioration of  the  Laborer," — giving  a  negative  answer 
to  the  theor}^, — the  "  Fluctuations  of  Wages  ; "  "  Co-oper- 
ation," "  Piece-work,"  and   "  Courts  of  Conciliation." 

Mr  Brassey  read  a  ver}'  interesting  address  before  the 
Social  Science  Congress  at  Norwich  in  1873,  being  a  gen- 
real  review  of  the  labor  market  at  that  period.  Speaking 
of  shortening  the  hours  of  labor  and  of  the  effects  of  this 
policy  on  English  production,  Mr.  Brassey  refuses  to  regard 
a  limitation  of  the  hours  of  labor  as  an  evil  in  itself.  He 
says  of  the  theor}-  he  combats — "  I  cannot  share  in  this  view. 
Because  some  may  make  an  unwise  use  of  their  newly-ac- 
quired advantages,  that  is  no  reason  for  returning  to  a  for- 
mer state  of  things  ;  when  in  the  general  depression  of  trade 
an  undue  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  working- 

*  "  On  Work  and  Wages,"  p.  207. 


174  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

man.  No  doubt,  says  Sir  Arthur  Helps,  hard  work  is  a 
great  police  agent.  If  everybody  were  worked  from  morn- 
ing until  night  and  then  carefully  locked  up,  the  register 
of  crime  might  be  greatly  diminished.  But  what  would  be- 
come of  human  nature,  where  would  be  the  room  for  growth 
in  such  a  system  of  things  ?  The  use  of  leisure  requires 
education,  and  that  education  has  not  been  fully  given  to  the 
mechanics,  miners  and  puddlers  of  former  generations."  * 
A  more  recent  article  shows  a  considerable  advance  in 
literary  skill  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Brassey,  as  well  as  of  ca- 
pacity to  handle  his  chosen  themes.  In  the  article  al- 
luded to  he  reviews  the  subject  of  "  Co-operative  Produc- 
tion," giving  a  veiy  clear  and  comprehensive  account  of  the 
movements  in  that  direction,  not  only  in  Great  Britain  but 
in  other  countries  also.  After  summing  up  the  facts  relating 
to  co-operative  stores,  Mr.  Brassey  proceeds  to  those  of  pro- 
duction. He  reviews  at  length  the  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  managing  such  enterprises,  shows  the  want  of  admin- 
istration, knowledge  and  skill,  and  the  disinclination  to 
place  the  needed  power  in  the  hands  of  managers.  Mr. 
Brassey  says  : 

"  When  co-operative  production  has  been  introduced  into  all 
branches  of  industry  successfully  and  on  a  sufficiently  extensive  scale, 
we  shall  then  have  the  universal  gauge  or  measure  of  the  workman's 
rightful  claims.  From  the  day  when  the  workman  will  take  his  part 
•in  the  deliberations  which  accord  to  capital  its  fair  rate  of  interest, 
and  to  the  wage-earner  his  due,  from  the  day  when  the  workman  may 
count  with  certainty  on  a  just  and  equal  participation  in  the  profits  of 
every  enterprise  in  which  he  is  engaged,  in  proportion  to  his  merits, 
strikes,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  cease,  and  workmen  will  be  devoted  to 
the  successful  prosecution  of  the  industry  in  which  they  find  their 

*  "  Wages  in  1873."  London,  Longmans,  Green  &  Co. 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  I  75 

employment.  If  it  sliould  appear  an  exaggeration  of  the  powers  of 
human  nature  to  adopt  the  principles  on  which  Fourier  insisted,  and 
to  regard  all  labor  as  a  pleasure,  it  is  possible  to  conceive  conditions, 
in  which  labor  would  appear  neither  irksome  nor  distasteful.  The 
laborer  might  have  more  satisfaction  in  working  under  the  direction 
of  persons  selected  by  himself,  than  he  now  experiences  under  the 
authority  of  an  employer  upon  whom  he  is  entirely  dependent  as  the 
distributor  of  wages  "  * 

He  points  out  that  capitalists  and  employers  of  labor 
are  not,  as  a  class,  regardless  of  the  rights  of  others,  and 
declares  "  that  the  disposition  to  be  liberal  towards  work- 
men is  developed,  as  a  general  rule,  in  proportion  to  the 
extent  of  the  business  and  the  capital  of  the  employer." 
Struggling  ones  are  more  apt  to  be  selfish  and  grinding. 
He  takes  exception  to  the  theory  that  the  intermediate 
class,  persons  of  moderate  but  independent  incomes,  is 
becoming  smaller ;  and  points  out  the  fact  that  the  average 
size  of  farms  in  the  United  States  is  stated  at  154  acres, 
and  that  in  sevente-en  representative  counties  the  farms  of 
England  are  but  152  acres  each.  He  urges  the  advantage 
of  individual  over  corporate  business  control,  and  quotes 
Erastus  Bigelow  of  Massachusetts,  against  the  system  of  cor- 
porations. The  article  embraces  an  account  of  all  the  known 
productive  co-operative  efforts,  and  gives  very  interesting 
details  of  the  sub-contract  and  piece-work  plans  adopted 
by  his  father  and  other  great  railway  contractors,  claiming 
for  them  the  character  of  co-operative  effort.  Another 
statement  of  value  is  one  relating  to  "piece-work,"  in  iron 
ship  building.  He  also  discusses  the  "partnership  of 
labor  "  plan  as  introduced  in  coal  mining  by  Messrs.  Briggs 
&  Sons,  and  by  Messrs.  Fox,  Head  &  Co.,  in  manufac- 

*  "  Co-operative  Production. —  Contemporary  Rcfirw,  London, y?</)',  i  S74 


176  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ture.  The  latter  scheme  gives  every  one  a  pecuniaiy  interest 
in  success  and  profit,  proportioned  to  service  rendered. 
Wages  and  Salaries  are  paid  at  ordinary  rates.  Capital 
receives  a  specified  interest  rate.  A  fund  for  repairs 
and  plant  is  to  be  maintained,  also  one  against  loss  by 
bad  debts.  After  these  sums  are  paid  the  profits  are 
divided  between  capital  and  labor.  This  scheme,  Mr. 
Brassey  says,  has  worked  well  for  eight  years,  and  he  adds : 

"  In  that  interval,  amid  the  many  fluctuations  to  which  their  trade  is 
always  subjected,  they  have  paid  between  ;^6,ooo  and  ;^7,oco  to  their 
workmen  by  way  of  bonus  ;  and  the  result  has  been  eminently  satis- 
factory to  the  employers.  They  think  they  have  a  superior  class  of 
workmen,  and  that  they  stay  longer  at  the  works.  They  obtain  the 
best  prices  for  their  manufactures.  They  have  no  disputes,  and  pay 
no  contributions  to  standing  committees  or  courts  of  conciliation. 
Thus,  the  employers  are  well  content  with  the  arrangements  they 
have  made  ;  and  the  conduct  of  the  workmen  shows  that  a  feeling  of 
mutual  satisfaction  prevails." 

The  closing  paragraphs  of  this  article  are  so  thoughtful 
and  worth  considering,  as  illustrating  what  a  wise  repre- 
sentative of  the  capitalist  class  thinks  of  the  probable 
tendencies  of  the  Labor  Agitation,  that  they  will  bear 
reproducing.  Mr.  Brassey  alludes  to  the  fact  that  travel 
is  no  longer  confined  to  the  wealthy  or  well-to-do  classes, 
but  that  working-men  circulate  more  freely  from  country  to 
country.  Their  class  interest  will,  he  thinks,  bring  them 
closely  together,  and  so  make  "  them  regard  with  stronger 
aversion  those  national  struggles  in  which,  from  motives 
of  personal  ambition,  their  rulers  in  past  ages  have  been 
too  ready  to  engage.  Already  we  see  in  Germany  a  party 
being  formed  whose  sympathies  are  for  France.  The 
originators  of  the  movement  are  the  artizans  in   the  two 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  I  77 

countries  ;  and,  as  their  numbers  will  probably  increase, 
they  may  exercise  a  valuable  influence  in  promoting  the 
blessed  work  of  reconciliation."* 

So,  too,  he  regards  "  the  solidarity  of  the  two  peoples  " 
as  surer  guarantee  for  "  a  close  and  permanant  alliance," 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,"  than  the 
most  elaborate  contrivances  of  diplomacy."  Appealing 
for  a  better  feeling  in  his  own  land,  Mr.  Brassey  writes  in 
closing  : 

"As  union  is  most  earnestly  to  be  desired  between  the  same  classes 
in  different  countries,  so  it  is  not  less  desirable  between  different 
classes  in  the  same  country.  If  it  is  hard  for  the  privileged  few  to 
appreciate  the  difficulties  of  the  masses  around  them,  who  are  strug- 
gling forward  in  the  battle  of  life,  it  is  still  harder,  we  may  rest 
assured,  for  the  poor  to  appreciate  the  peculiar  trials  of  the  rich.  We 
may  plead  for  princes  their  isolation,  and  for  the  nobly-born  the 
absence  of  many  powerful  motives  which  fire  the  ambition  of  men  of 
modest  station  and  lead  them  forward  to  a  career  of -usefulness  and 
distinction.  We  may  urge  on  behalf  of  the  rich  that  they  are  a  tempt- 
ing prey  to  designing  men,  and  can  seldom  earn  the  gratitude  reserv- 
ed for  those  who  are  believed  to  practice  the  virtue  of  self-denial ; 
but  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  mass  below  them,  contending  for 
bare  existence,  have  little  sympathy  to  spare  from  the  constant  trou- 
bles of  their  own  lives,  for  trials  that  to  them  must  appear  artificial 
and  self-imposed. 

"  Whatever  the  poor  may  feel  towards  the  rich,  the  duty  of  the 
rich  towards  the  poor  is  too  plain  to  admit  of  misconception.  Wheth- 
er moved  by  considerations  of  policy,  or  by  the  nobler  impulses  of 
humanity,  it  must  be  the  object  of  our  universal  solicitude  that  no 
class  in  society  should  be  exposed  to  the  fatal  influences  of  despair. 

"  Multitudes  there  must  be  in  every  city  contending  amid  waves  that 
threaten  destruction;  and  when,  with  anxious  glances  they  seek  a 
refuge  from  the  storm,  can  they  descry  the  happy  isles  in  which  they 
may  repose  ?     The  land,  if  seen,  is  far  away,  their  bark  is  sinking, 

*  Contempora7y  Revicrv,  Julv,  1S74,  p.  232. 

8*  12 


178  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

and  their  only  hope  the  aid  of  those  who  have  already  gained  the 
shore. 

"  An  idea  prevails  in  certain  quarters  abroad  that  there  is  no 
sympathy  between  the  affluent  classes  in  England  and  the  masses  of 
their  less  fortunate  fellow-countrj'men.  Much  more  truly  may  it  be 
affirmed  that  in  no  other  country  is  the  same  deep  interest  felt  in  the 
welfare  of  the  poor.  It  is  because  this  sympathy  exists,  that  in  Eng- 
land we  have  as  yet  been  spared  the  miseries  of  social  disunion ;  and 
from  this  the  most  dire  calamity  which  can  befall  a  nation  Heaven 
grant  we  may  remain  for  ever  free  !  "  * 

Mr.  Brassey  is  a  fine  type — physically  and  mentally — of 
the  English  gentleman,  descended  from  an  estimable 
family,  of  a  class  which  represents  the  very  best  stock  in  a 
land  where  so  much  store  is  set  on  ancestral  qualities. 
Coming,  too,  from  an  immediate  parentage  so  honorably 
identified  with  the  broadest  activities  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion, possessed  of  all  the  advantages  the  best  education 
and  wealth  can  afford,  he  unites  therewith  a  positive  char- 
acter, and  a  kindly  breadth  of  judgment  and  experience 
which  are  sure  to  make  him  hereafter  a  man  of  more 
marked  influence  in  English  politics.  He  is  a  man  of 
comely  appearance  ;  of  middle  stature,  well  knit,  athletic 
frame,  kindly  but  thoughtful  face,  large,  brown  eyes, 
hair,  and  light  side-whiskers.  His  head  is  large  and  well 
balanced,  and  the  forehead  is  broad  and  open,  a  fair  index 
of  the  mind.  His  manners  are  grave  but  courteous,  and, 
like  his  father,  Mr.  Brassey  is  always  accessible.  He 
has  been  an  efficient  co-worker  in  the  Plimsoll  agitation, 
so  far  as  Parliamentary  action  is  concerned ;  in  other  mat- 
ters he  has  commonly  given  an  active  support  to  measures 
like  those  of  Mr.  Trevelyan  and   Sir  Charles   Dilke  for 

*  Contemporary  Revieiu,  p.  232-3. 


THOMAS    BRASSEY.  I  79 

extending  the  franchise  and  redistributing  seats.  So  well 
grounded  is  the  popular  faith  in  Mr.  Brassey's  purity  of 
purpose  and  just  intent,  that  even  when  he  takes  adverse 
ground  on  a  labor  or  political  question  or  dispute,  as  he  has 
recently  done  in  the  great  lock-out  of  miners  in  South 
Wales,  no  one  has  questioned  his  sincerity  of  motive. 
Mr.  Brassey  is  married,  and  children  are  growing  up  by  his 
hearth-stone.  The  advent  of  men  of  his  stamp  in  the 
public  life  of  any  country  is  an  event  always  to  be  wel- 
comed ;  but  their  activity  (for  Mr.  Brassey  is  not  alone)  in 
British  politics  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  the  peo- 
ple of  England,  and  of  service  to  all  others,  for  the  light 
they  will  be  able  to  shed  on  different  sides  of  the  world's 
great  social   and  economic  problem — the  Labor  Question. 


XL 


Samuel  Morley. 


HE  late  Richard  Cobden,  speaking  in  favor  of 
Electoral  Reform  in  Great  Britain,  argued  that 
the  wisest  policy  to  pursue  was  for  those  in 
power  from  time  to  time  to  garrison  present  institu- 
tions with  new  forces  and  fresh  recruits.  This  is  a 
favorite  idea  with  the  member  from  Bristol,  Mr.  Samuel 
Morley,  and  presents  a  fair  statement  of  the  philosophy 
which  guides  his  political  life.  It  is  not  a  difficult  thing 
to  indicate  the  party  affiliations  of  an  English  gentleman, 
who  is  at  all  active  in  public  affairs,  when  you  have  named 
the  family  and  other  class  associations  from  which  he 
sprung,  or  in  which  he  moves.  So  too,  if  he  is  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  his  position  may  be  generally  appre- 
hended by  naming  the  borough  he  represents,  if  there  is" 
even  a  slight  knowledge  of  English  political  history.  For 
many  years  past,  no  one  but  an  "  advanced  "  politician  in 
the  field  of  finance  or  electoral  reform,  has  sat  for  the 
borough  of  Unsbury.     It  would  not  be  possible  for  any 


SAMUEL    MORLEV.  161 

one  other  than  a  leader  in  the  economic  school  known  by 
the  name  of  that  great  manufacturing  burgh,  to  sit  for 
Manchester  :  and  Bristol,  for  which  Mr.  Morley  has  sat 
since  1868,  has  not  sent  to  Parliament  for  many  years  any 
one  but  an  independent  Radical.  For  a  century  it  has 
been  marked  for  opinions  of  this  cast ;  and  at  various 
periods  of  popular  agitation,  its  people  have  grown  impa- 
tient at  delays  and  hastened  the  progress  of  needed  reforms 
by  significant  disorder  and  turbulence.  The  passage  of 
the  reform  bill  of  1832  was  accelerated  by  the  riots  at 
Bristol,  cjuite  as  much  as  the  later  one  was  by  the  fall 
of  the  Hyde  Park  railings  under  the  orders  of  the  Reform 
League.  Mr.  Morle}',  by  his  birth  and  early  associations, 
as  well  as  his  mature  convictions,  fitly  represents  the  an- 
cient borough  for  which  he  sits. 

Samuel  Morley  is  an  elderly  gentleman  of  striking  ap- 
pearance, bearing  in  his  open  and  benignant  face,  the  evi- 
dence of  a  benevolent  character  as  well  as  of  a  firm  and 
thoughtful  mind.  He  possesses  wealth,  public  spirit,  a 
courteous  and  kindly  disposition,  and  a  courage  which 
leads  him  readily  to  champion  a  right  cause  or  vigorously 
expose  wrong  doing.  He  belongs  to  the  wealthy  middle 
class — the  manufacturing  and  commercial  interests — which 
have  given  to  modern  England  so  many  of  its  best  citizens. 
He  is  the  youngest  son  of  John  Morley,  of  London  and 
Nottingham.  His  father  was  the  head  of  one  of  the 
largest  hosiery  manufacturing  firms  in  England,  and  his 
sons  have  succeeded  to  the  business.  Samuel  Morley  was 
born  in  1809,  and  is  in  his  sixty-sixth  year.  He  is  one  of 
the  finest  looking  men  in  the  Commons  and  one  of  those 
most  sure  to  be  noticed  by  a  stranger.     In    1841,  at  the 


1 82  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

age  of  thirty  two,  Mr.  Morley  was  married  to  the  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Hope,  a  well  known  banker  of  Liverpool. 

Mr.  John  Morley  was  a  prominent  laymen  in  one  of 
the  leading  evangelical  sects,  and  his  sons  from  their 
childhood  were  the  friends  of  the  foremost  nonconform- 
ing divines  of  England.  This  association  began  to  influ- 
ence Mr.  Samuel  Morley  at  a  period  when  all  liberal 
thoughts  ran  largely  to  political  action.  Among  those 
with  whom  the  Morleys  were  on  familiar  terms,  was  Dr. 
John  Pye  Smith,  a  famous  Biblical  scholar,  whose  activity 
was  marked  in  many  other  fields.  Dr.  Smith  was  an 
ardent  supporter  of  Joseph  Hume,'  the  sturdiest  financial 
reformer  England  has  seen  for  a  century  past ;  and  later 
in  life,  he  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  Cobden  and  Bright  in 
their  anti-corn-law  struggle.  His  influence  largely  affected 
Mr.  Samuel  Morley's  life  and  principles,  and  on  the 
latter's  entering  public  life,  he  was  recognized  both  by 
the  public  and  his  co-religionists,  who  form  an  important 
element  of  the  Liberal  party,  as  the  rightful  heir  to  politi- 
cal convictions  like  those  of  his  learned  friend. 

As  a  large  employer  of  labor  at  Nottingham,  Mr. 
Samuel  Morley  is  known  as  the  friend  and  supporter  of 
Mr.  Mundella  in  all  his  earlier  efforts  to  introduce,  as  a 
remedy  for  labor  troubles,  the  Boards  of  Arbitration  and 
Conciliation  which  have  since  proved  so  fruitful  of  good 
results.  In  his  public  career,  Mr.  Morley  is  recognized 
as  an  authority  on  all  legislation  on  questions  relating  to 
capital  and  labor.  His  opinion  on  some  of  these  matters 
is  expressed  very  clearly  in  a  letter  addressed  to  a  Mr. 
Kelley  of  Bristol,  who  was  actively  engaged  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Agricultural   Laborers'  Unions,  and  at  the 


SAMUEL    MORLEY.  1 83 

same  time  in  promoting  the  establishment  of  arbitration 
boards.     Mr.  Morley  writes  : — 

"  I  very  heartily  sympathize  with  you  in  the  efforts  which  you  are 
making.  *  *  *  These  boards  are,  I  am  convinced,  the  very 
best  remedy  for  the  evils  and  misery  which  come  from  lock-outs  and 
strikes.  They  serve  to  make  masters  and  men  think  about  the  justice 
of  their  respective  claims,  and  prevent  the  enormous  loss  of  labor,  and 
consequently  of  capital  (which  is  only  accumulated  labor's  results), 
which  presses  most  heavily  in  time  of  strike  on  the  workman  and  his 
family.  I  sincerely  hope  your  efforts  will  be  crowned  with  success. 
It  is  most  opportune  to  have  everywhere  the  boards  formed  and  ready 
to  act  before  the  differences  arise,  and  to  have  them  consist  of  the 
most  strictly  upright  and  honorable  persons,  capitalists  and  laborers 
in  the  various  localities." 

It  was  not  until  1865  that  Mr.  Morley  entered  Parlia- 
ment. Having  been,  after  sharply  contesting  Nottingham, 
unseated  at  the  close  of  his  first  session  on  account  of 
informalities,  which  in  no  wise  affected  his  own  character  or 
political  purity,  Mr.  Morley  did  not  again  offer  himself  as 
a  candidate  until  1868.  He  then  stood  for  Bristol,  and 
was  elected  in  November  of  that  year,  and  again  in  1874. 
He  identified  himself  with  the  Liberal  Ministry,  generally 
supporting  their  measures.  Among  his  earliest  votes  was 
that  cast  for  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church,  a 
measure  which  he  was  convinced,  he  said,  would  strength- 
en, not  weaken  Protestantism.  Mr.  Morley  represents 
that  portion  of  the  nonconforming  sects  which  do  not 
fully  accept  the  political  leadership  of  Mr.  Miall  or  the 
policy  of  the  Liberation  society.  He  is  disposed  to  com- 
promise on  the  "Erastian  "  principle — that  of  concurrent 
endowment.  But  like  Mr.  Miall  he  is  a  strenuous  oppo- 
nent of  all  compulsory  supports  of  a  state  Church,  or  other 


184  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

religious  body.  Mr.  Morley  very  early  entered  with  great 
activity  into  the  agitation  for  public  education,  and  when  the 
act  of  1870,  establishing  School  Boards,  was  made  law,  he 
became  a  candidate  for  the  Board  of  London.  So  much  are 
his  presence  and  influence  valued  in  this  field,  that  when 
business  cares  and  public  duties  compelled  his  absence 
from  its  deliberations  for  several  months  and  he  tendered 
his  resignation,  he  was  unanimously  asked  by  his  colleague 
to  withdraw  the  request.  No  better  idea  can  be  given  of 
the  great  work  that  is  being  done  in  this  important  field 
than  to  present  the  following  brief  statement  of  the  result 
in  London,  made  by  Mr.  George  Potter,  editor  of  the  Bee- 
hive, who,  with  a  Mr.  Lucraft,  was  elected  to  represent  the 
working  class  in  this  body.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
many  of  the  foremost  men  in  England  have  stood  for  and 
been  elected  as  members  of  School  Boards. 

Mr.  Potter  says,  that  in  187 1,  the  London  Board  de- 
cided to  build  accommodation  for  112,000  t:hildren.  In 
these  new  structures  eighty-five  schools  have  already  been 
opened,  twenty-two  more  are  being  constructed,  and  work 
on  seventeen  others  will  soon  be  commenced,  making  a 
total  of  127  new  buildings,  which  will  accommodate  105,000 
children.  In  1871  there  were  enrolled  in  the  "efficient" 
schools  of  London  (before  the  labors  of  the  Board  begun)  ; 
208,250  children.  At  the  close  of  1874  the  number  was 
343,100.  The  average  daily  attendance  was  at  the  first 
date  171,767;  at  the  last  it  was  256,394,  being  84,624  more. 
The  cost  of  these  schools  is  about  $49  for  each  child, 
which  is  about  48  cents  on  each  dollar  of  assessed  valua- 
tion. The  amount,  spent  or  to  be  provided  for,  up  to  March, 
1875  was  ;^i,o3i,392,  7s.5d.,  or  nearly  $5,157,000. 


SAMUEL    MORLEY.  I  85 

As  a  business  man  of  large  experience,  Mr.  Morley 
has  already  shown  himself  efficient  in  the  preparation  and 
carrying  of  necessary  legislation.  Several  measures  have 
been  proposed  and  carried  through  by  him  for  the  improve- 
ment of  commercial  law  and  especially  of  Bankruptcy  pro- 
ceedings. He  has  urged  with  great  earnestness  the  pas- 
sage of  an  act  to  enable  the  Public  Works  Loafi  Commis- 
sioners to  make  advances  to  the  limited  owners  of  entailed 
estates  for  the  building  and  improvement  of  the  laborers 
cottage — being  one  of  a  series  of  propositions  to  which 
Mr.  Morley  has  closely  devoted  himself,  all  looking 
to  the  improvement  and  elevation  of  labor,  and  the  cor- 
rection of  abuses  which  have  grown  up  in  the  shadow  of 
inherited  privilege  and  wealth.  Mr.  Morley  votes  in  nearly 
every  instance  with  Sir  Charles  Dilke  for  redistribution  of 
seats,  with  Prof.  Fawcett  in  measures  for  the  suffrage  and 
education  of  laborers  ;  with  Messrs.  Mundella,  Macdonald, 
Burt  and  others  for  the  abolition  of  special  legislation  as 
applied  to  w^orkmen  ;  with  Mr.  P.  A.  Taylor  in  opposition 
to  the  game  laws  and  against  the  unpaid  magistracy,  though 
he  is  in  commission  for  Middlesex  county  where  he  resides  ; 
with  Plimsoll  on  the  shipping  bills,  and  with  Sir  Wilfrid 
Lawson  on  the  Permissive  Liquor  act.  He  does  not  usu- 
ally follow  the  "  irreconcilables  "  —  now  recruited  from 
four  in  the  last  House  to  eighteen  in  the  present  one 
—  into  the  lobby,  when  they  divide  the  House  upon 
a  royal  grant  or  modification  of  the  civil  list.  In 
financial  matters,  Mr.  Morley  is  consistent  in  his  ef- 
forts to  reduce  taxation.  He  was  among  the  earliest 
friends  of  the  Reform  League,  giving  freely  of  his  means  to 
that  and  other  similar  movements.     He  was  one  of  the 


I  86  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

first  public  men  in  England  to  recognize  the  importance  as 
well  as  the  justice  of  the  Agricultural  Laborers'  move- 
ment ;  and  presided  at  the  Exeter  Hall  meeting, when  Joseph 
Arch  made  his  first  speech  to  a  London  audience,  sup- 
ported by  such  widely  varying  champions  as  Cardinal 
(then  Archbishop)  Manning  and  Charles  Bradlaugh.  The 
speech  of  the  latter  consisted  of  a  single  ringing  resolution  in 
which  it  was  declared  that  the  only  remedy  for  the  laborers 
distress  and  wrongs  was  in  an  equitable  settlement  of  the 
Land  Tenure  question.  The  London  Times  editorially  re- 
ferred to  it  as  the  important  event  of  the  meeting. 

Mr.  Morley  was  also  the  Chairman  of  the  second  .meet- 
ing on  the  same  question,  when  in  1874,  the  farmers  of 
the  eastern  counties  inaugurated  an  extensive  lock-out. 
Mr.  Morley's  speech  was  a  strong  one,  though  free  from 
all  bitterness. 

He  had,  he  said,  "  not  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  his  being  there  that  evening  to  express  deep  and 
earnest  sympathy  with  the  agricultural  laborers.  The  life 
which  the  poor  fellows  lived  was  a  disgrace  to  Christians 
of  this  country." 

"  Deeply  anxious  to  see  an  end  put  to  the  present  state 
of  things,  he  had  tried  very  hard,"  he  added,  "  during  the 
last  fortnight,  to  procure  the  intervention  of  men  of  posi- 
tion, influence,  and  independence."  It  was  a  duty  to 
cheer  on  every  man,  mechanic  or  peasant,  "  in  the  deter- 
mination to  do  something  towards  raising  his  own  social 
position." 

Speaking  of  his  sympathies  with  the  laborers,  he  de- 
clared, that  these  were  no  new  opinions  or  feelings  :  he  had 
"  always  felt  and  thought  that  working  men  have  a  right  to 


SAMUEL    MORLEY.  I  87 

meet  together  and  decide  the  price -at  which  their  labor 
shall  be  sold."  As  to  locking  out  those  who  unite  for 
this  purpose  until  they  dissolve  their  Union,  he  regarded 
it  "  as  a  positive  act  of  tyranny,  an  interference  with  the 
rights  of  Englishmen  ;  "  and  he,  for  one,  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  "  help  them  in  every  practicable  and  possible  way 
to  maintain  their  position." 

It  is  said  eulogistically  but  apparently  with  truth,  that 
Mr.  Morley's  "  moral  instincts  are  noble  and  unselfish,  and 
his  natural  disposition  is  generous  and  liberal.  Knowing 
that  his  great  wealth  comes  to  him  through  the  industry  of 
those  whom  he  employs,  he  never  forgets  their  claims  in 
the  indulgence  of  any  caprices  of  his  own.  His  chief 
pleasure  consists  in  promoting  works  of  usefulness  and 
aiding  purposes  of  philanthropy.  Unpretendingly  plain 
and  rigidly  abstemious  in  his  own  habits  and  mode  of  life, 
he  knows  no  luxury  but  that  of  doing  good.  His  love  of 
tmth  amounts  to  a  worship.  His  sense  of  justice  is  quick 
strong,  and  steadfast.  His  hatred  of  oppression  is  a  pas- 
sion. These  are  the  sentiments  that  form  and  fire  his  ora- 
tory, whichby  virtue  of  a  simple  and  straightforward  strenu- 
ousness,  often  transcends  the  highest  flights  of  eloquence, 
at  once  more  catching  in  its  influence  and  more  abiding 
in  its  results."* 

*  Beehive  "Portrait  Gallery,"  London,  1S74. 


PART  III. 
PARLIAMENTARY   AGITATORS. 


XII. 

Samuel   Plimsoll. 


HE  man  who  most  moves  men  is  the  one  who 
usually  keeps  the  coolest  in  times  of  great  ex- 
citement. Said  Theodore  Parker  during  the  de 
livery  of  a  remarkable  discourse — that  which  followed  the 
assault  on  Charles  Sumner  in  1856  — "  the  blacksmith 
must  keep  cool  when  the  iron  is  at  red  heat  and 
needs  moulding."  But  there  is  an  ardor  which  sweeps 
all  before  it,  so  nearly  divine  are  its  ingredients.  The 
member  for  Derby  has  felt  it  arouse  him  to  a  pas 
sion  that  in  its  intensity  was  almost  sublime,  and  in  its 
effect  more  than  grand.  Trampling  under  foot  all  mere 
conventionalities  of  time  and  place,  he  stirred  first  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  then  the  people  of  Great  Britain 
to  an  understanding  of  the  cause,  which,  animating  this 
man,  enabled  him  to  fling  denunciation  at  the  English 
government   and  the  avaricious  greed  to  which  they  had 


192  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

cringed  !  Parliamentary  history  records  no  incident  more 
striking  than  when  Mr.  Plimsoll  woke  the  echoes  in  St. 
Stephens,  on  the  23d  of  July,  1875,  and  shamed  a  nation 
into  action.  The  words  he  uttered,  so  smiting  in  their 
directness,  sounding  in  their  terrible  invective  like  the 
denunciations  of  an  Hebrew  prophet,  recall  that  mar- 
vellous arraignment  of  Warren  Hastings  which  alone  would 
have  made  Edmund  Burke  renowned  as  an  orator.  Samuel 
Plimsoll  is  no  Edmund  Burke — he  is  not  a  man  of  genius 
in  the  sense  usually  understood  by  the  term,  but  he  is 
possessed  of  tliat  deep  sympathy  for  human  suffering 
which  is  so  rare  and  so  much  more  ennobling  than  the 
merely  intellectual,  however  massive,  can  ever  be. 

The  member  for  Derby  is  now  in  his  fifty-first  year. 
He  was  born  at  Bristol  in  1824,  being  the  fourth  son  of  the 
late  Thomas  Plimsoll,  Esq.  His  mother  was  Priscilla, 
daughter  of  the  late  Jonas  Willing,  Esq.  He  was  private- 
ly educated  by  Dr.  S.  Eadon,  M.A.,  M.D.,  and  married  in 
1857  Eliza  Ann,  daughter  of  the  late  Hugh  Railton,  Esq. 
Mr.  Plimsoll's  own  business  being  that  of  a  coal  merchant, 
his  attention  was  called  to  the  condition  of  the  English 
marine  service,  and  the  horrible  recklessness  exhibited  to- 
wards the  sailors,  as  to  their  treatment  and  their  lives.  In 
the  coal  trade  Mr.  Plimsoll  has  amassed  a  large  fortune, 
M'hich  he  has  for  some  years  past  been  spending  freely  in 
furtherance  of  the  great  work  he  has  undertaken.  His 
wife  sympathizes  with  him  fully,  and  this  true  gentleman 
and  lady,  with  their  children,  live  in  the  plainest  style  suit- 
able to  their  social  position,  economizing  closely  in  order 
to  have  the  means  wherewith  to  meet  the  possible  judg- 
ments that  may  attend  the  libel  suits  that  have  beset  the . 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  I  93 

agitation  inaugurated  by  him.  Moncure  D.  Conway  writes 
from  London  *  that 

"  Mr.  PlimsoU's  madness  was  not  that  of  the  intellect ;  it  was  a  sort 
of  divine  passion,  breaking  out  with  thunder  and  lightning.  This  man 
has  dwelt  on  the  scene  of  poor  wretches  struggling  amid  the  waves 
to  an  extent  hardly  appreciable  by  the  gentlemen  of  England  who 
live  at  home  at  ease.  He  is  a  nervous  gentleman,  too ;  thin,  pale-faced, 
with  an  affection  of  the  eyes  which  makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  wear 
colored  spectacles.  He  has  often  reminded  me  of  the  portraits  of 
Washington.  *  *  *  Hq  ^nd  his  wife  have  for  many 

years  devoted  themselves  with  absorbing  enthusiasm  to  the  work  of 
saving  seamen.  *  *  *  ^jr.  Plimsoll  was  induced  to  seek  a 
place  in  Parliament,  not  by  any  personal  ambition,  but  purely  for  the 
sake  of  his  cause.  By  his  persistent  inquiries  and  agitation  he  suc- 
ceeded, against  many  powerful  influences  to  the  contrary,  in  making 
out  a  case  for  investigation,  and  the  facts  brought  to  light  were  such 
that  no  Government  could  dare  to  willihold  support  from  his  reform. 
A  week  ago  he  was  one  of  the  happiest  men  in  England.  At  a  dinner, 
where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him,  he  said  that  he  had  been 
privately  informed  by  a  member  of  the  Government  that  they  had 
substantially  adopted  his  bill,  and  meant  to  put  it  through.  The 
crowning  success  of  his  cause  appeared  just  at  hand." 

It  was  upon  that  exultant  moment  that  Mr  Disraeli's 
cruel  nihilism  broke  like  thunder  in  a  clear  sky.  Mr. 
Plimsoll  however  seems  to  have  been  prepared.  He 
heard  during  the  day  what  was  coming,  and  went  to 
the  Commons  armed  for  whatever  might  happen.  Early 
last  spring,  speaking  to  a  distinguished  American  who 
had  a  wide  naval  experience  and  personally  knew  the  great 
need  of  Mr.  PlimsoU's  exertions,  that  gentleman  said 
that  he  expected  to  go  to  the  Tower  before  his  work  was 
accomplished,  as  there  would  be  no  remedy  made  success- 
ful, until  the  lightning  of  public  indignation  had  struck 

*  Cincinnati  Conuneirial,  August  6th,  1875. 

9  13 


194  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

those  who  were  fattening  on  wholesale  murder.     If   Mr. 
Plimsoll  was  mad  there  was  evidently  method  in  it. 

It  has  been  apparent  from  the  first  that  the  agitation, 
begun  by  the  member  for  Derby  as  a  work  of  pure  hu- 
manity, had  drifted  into  an  issue  of  political  importance, 
and  the  last  incident  bids  fair  to  aid  the  overthrow  of  the 
Disraeli  ministry,  Mr.  Plimsoll's  practical  defeat  of  the 
Conservative  Premier  is  a  political  blow  more  severe  than 
the  personal  insult  which  Daniel  O'Connell  aimed  at  him, 
when  he  imagined  him  to  be  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  un- 
repentant thief  on  the  cross.  Mr,  Plimsoll,  when  he  pub- 
lished his  remarkable  volume  "  Our  Seamen  "  dedicated 
both  the  large  and  cheap  editions  to  "  The  Lady,  Gracious 
and  Kind,  who  seeing  a  Laborer  working  in  the  rain,  sent  him 
her  rug  to  wrap  about  his  shoulders  " — thereby  recording  his 
admiration  of  an  incident  narrated  to  the  honor  of  the 
Queen  herself.  His  politics  are  however  of  the  advanced 
radical  order,  and  in  Parliament  and  before  the  people,  he 
votes  for  and  advocates  the  measures,  which  are  tending  so 
rapidly  to  making  England  shoot  that  Niagara,  to  which 
Thomas  Carlyle  has  so  vividly  referred.  Dod's  Parliamentary 
Manual  classifies  Mr.  P4imsoll  as  an  "  advanced  Liberal." 
He  voted  for  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church  in 
1869,  and  with  Mr.  Miall  in  187 1  ;  supports  Sir  Charles 
Dilke's  proposition  for  a  re-distribution  of  seats,  Mr. 
Trevelyan's  bill  for  the  extension  of  the  franchise  to  Agri- 
cultural laborers,  demands  the  abolition  of  all  rate-paying 
clauses,  supports  the  labor  legislation  and  is  an  active  ad- 
vocate of  arbitration,  co-operation,  temperance,  and  nation- 
al compulsory  education.  Mr.  Plimsoll  was  a  candidate 
in  1865,  but  unsuccessful.     He  was  elected  in    1868,  and 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  I  95 

was  re-elected  in  1S72.  Before  entering  on  this  portion  of 
his  life,  Mr.  Plimsoll  was  known  as  a  successful  merchant, 
the  author  of  important  pamphlets  on  the  Export  and 
Indian  Trades,  published  in  1862,  and  as  one  of  the  most 
efficient  of  the  honorary  secretaries  to  the  London  Univer- 
sal Exposition  of  1851.  He  himself  says  he  was  induced  to 
seek  a  seat  in  Parliament  in  order  that  he  might  thereby 
advance  his  agitation,  and  in  the  strangely  interesting  book 
he  has  written,  "  Our  Seamen  " — all  the  more  attractive 
because  wholly  and  purposely  void  of  any  literary  preten- 
sions,— he  appeals  to  the  people  in  this  wise  :  "  I  do  not  wish 
to  represent  Parliament  as  indifferent  to  the  interests  of 
workingmen.  *  *  *  Parliament  will  act  readily  enough 
if  people  out  of  doors  make  it  a  prominent  question  ;  and, 
so  thoroughly  satisfied  am  I  on  this  point  that  I  begin  to 
doubt  whether  I  was  right  in  trying  to  get  into  Parliament 
with  the  object  of  getting  this  done.  It  seems  to  me  at 
least  doubtful  whether  I  should  not  have  done  better  to 
have  endeavored  to  rouse  people  out  of  doors  to  the  ur- 
gency of  the  matter."  He  then  declares  that  if  he  fails 
to  obtain  a  Royal  Commission  of  Inquiry,  he  shall  re- 
sign his  seat,  and  do  that.  "  I  will  then,  as  God  may  help 
me,  and  with  such  fellow-workers  as  I  may  find,  go  from 
town  to  town,  and  tell  the  story  of  the  sailors'  wrongs.  For, 
if  the  workingmen  of  Sheffield,  Leeds,  Birmingham,  and 
Manchester  only  demand  justice  for  these  poor  men,  the 
thing  is  done.  The  workingmen  of  Derby  have  done 
their  part ;  for  when,  moved  by  the  sailors'  wrongs,  I  asked 
them  to  send  me  to  Parliament  to  seek  for  justice,  they 
sent  me  by  over  2000  majority."  * 
*"Our  Seamen."  Popular  Edition,  Virtue  &  Co.,  London,  p.  120. 


196  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mr.  PlimsoU's  sympathies  and  exertions  are,  as  he 
states,  the  result  of  personal  knowledge  both  of  the  life  of 
workingmen  as  a  class,  and  of  the  particular  dangers  to 
which  British  sailors  are  exposed.  On  the  latter  point, 
his  special  experience  as  a  coal  merchant  and  shipper  has 
been  supplemented  by  frequent  coasting,  and  other  voy- 
ages, undertaken  for  health  and  amusement.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Plimsoll  are  fond  of  the  sea.  On  one  occasion, 
they  went  from  London  to  Hull,  on  the  Yorkshire  coast, 
a  voyage  which  skirts  the  most  dangerous  portions  of  the 
British  shores.  The  steamer  in  which  they  took  passage 
appears  to  have  been  greatly  overloaded,  and  a  very  severe 
storm  was  encountered  ;  the  vessel,  crew,  and  passengers 
were  in  great  peril,  and  in  their  gratitude  for  their  escape 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Plimsoll  promised  themselves  to  undertake 
their  present  agitation.  How  well  and  thoroughly  it  has 
been  performed,  the  later  incidents  which  have  made  Mr. 
PlimsoU's  name  a  "household  word,"  prove  beyond  ques- 
tion. The  larger  part  of  the  expenses  have  been  borne  by 
himself,  and  all  the  earlier  portion  came  from  his  own 
purse.  After  the  member  for  Derby  had  thoroughly  in- 
formed himself,  as  he  then  believed  and  has  since  proved, 
he  prepared  a  volume,  octavo  in  form,  containing  photo- 
graphs of  the  original  documents,  drawings,  measurements, 
insurance  policies,  etc.,  which  he  had  obtained,  beside 
the  remarkable  narrative  accompanying  them.  This  was 
published  at  his  own  cost,  and  by  him  widely  distrib- 
uted. Among  the  pathetic  appeals  which  abound  in  this 
singularly  tender  and  sympathetic  exposure  of  a  horrible 
system,  Mr.  Plimsoll  says  :  "  Now,  you  who  read  these 
pages — somebody  shall  read  them,  if  I  have  to  give  away 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  197 

the  whole  edition — will  you  help  me  to  put  these  things 
right?*  He  adds  his  address  and  says  no  one  need  fear 
to  burden  him  too  heavily  with  correspondence. 

In  the  pages  immediately  following,  Mr.  Plimsoll  gives 
some  autobiographical  facts,the  narration  of  which  heightens 
the  general  impression  made  by  a  review  of  his  labors — of 
his  genuine  simplicity,  sincerity,  and  intensity  of  character 
— not  lacking  by  any  means  in  an  apt  and  notable  amount 
of  sagacity  and  adaptation  of  means  to  ends.  Mention  has 
been  made  of  the  social  position  of  his  parents.  It  will 
appear  that  Mr.  Plimsoll  himself,  soon  after  his  own  active 
life  commenced,  was  greatly  reduced  in  circumstances,  and 
through  that  fact  came  to  have  the  experiences  which  he 
thus  utilizes  to  arouse  interest  in  the  class  for  which  he 
pleads  : 

"  I  don't  wish  to  disparage  the  rich,  but  I  think  it  may 
be  reasonably  doubted  whether  these  qualities  " — he  has 
alluded  in  a  preceding  paragraph  to  honesty,  industry, 
generous  comradeship,  and  courage — "  are  so  fully  devel- 
oped in  them  ;  for,  notwithstanding  that  not  a  few  of  them 
are  not  unacquainted  with  the  claims,  reasonable  and  un- 
reasonable, of  poor  relations,  these  qualities  are  not  in 
such  constant  exercise,  and  riches  seem  in  so  many  cases 
to  smother  the  manliness  of  their  possessors,  and  their 
sympathies  become  not  so  much  narrowed  as,  so  to  speak, 
satisfied — they  are  reserved  for  the  sufferings  of  their  own 
class,  and  also  the  woes  of  those  above  them.  They  sel- 
dom tend  downward  much,  and  are  far  more  likely  to  ad- 
mire an  act  of  high  courage,  like  that  of  the  engine-drivei 

*"Our  Seamen."     Cheap  Edition,  Virtue  &  Co.,  London,  p.  107. 


198  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

who  saved  his  passengers  lately  from  an  awful  collision  by 
cool  courage,  than  to  admire  the  constantly  exercised  forti- 
tude and  the  tenderness  which  are  the  daily  characteristics 
of  a  British  workman's  life. 

"  You  may  doubt  this.  I  should  have  once  done  so 
myself,  but  I  have  shared  their  lot ;  I  have  lived  with  them. 
For  months  and  months  I  lived  in  one  of  the  model  lodg- 
ing houses,  established  mainly  by  the  efforts  of  Lord 
Shaftesbur}^  *  *  *=  j  -went  there  simply  because  I 
could  not  afford  a  better  lodging.  *  *  *  Don't  sup- 
pose I  went  there  from  choice — I  went  from  stern  neces- 
ity — and  this  w^as  promotion  too, — and  I  went  with  strong 
shrinking,  with  a  sense  of  suffering  great  humiliation,  re- 
garding my  being  there  as  a  thing  to  be  carefully  kept 
secret  from  all  my  old  friends.  In  a  word,  I  considered  it 
only  less  degrading  than  spunging  upon  friends,  or  bor- 
rowing what  I  saw  no  chance  to  pay. 

"  Now  what  did  I  see  there  ?  I  found  the  workmen  con- 
siderate for  each  other.  I  found  they  would  go  out  (those 
who  were  out  of  employment)  day  after  day,  and  patiently 
trudge  miles  and  miles  seeking  employment,  returning 
night  after  night  unsuccessful  and  dispirited  ;  only,  how- 
ever, to  sally  out  the  following  morning  with  renewed  de- 
termination. *  *  And  I  have  seen  such  a  man 
sit  down  wearily  by  the  fire  (we  had  a  common  room  for 
sitting  and  cooking  everything),  with  a  hungry,  despondent 
look — he  had  not  tasted  food  all  day — and  accosted  by 
another,  scarcely  less  poor  than  himself,  with  "  Here,  mate, 
get  this  into  thee,"  handing  him  at  the  same  time  a  piece 
of  bread  and  some  cold  meat,  and  afterwards  some  coffee^ 
and    adding:       'Better   luck   to-morrow;    keep   up   your 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  1 99 

pecker.'  And  all  this  without  any  idea  that  they  were 
practising  the  most  splendid  patience,  fortitude,  courage 
and  generosity  I  had  ever  seen.  You  would  hear  them 
talk  of  absent  wife  and  children,  sometimes  these  in  a  dis- 
tant workhouse  (trade  was  very  bad  then),  with  expressions 
of  affection,  and  the  hope  of  seeing  them  again  soon  ; 
although  the  one  was  irreverently  alluded  10  as  '  my  old 
woman,'  and  the  latter  as  *  the  kids.'  "  * 

Mr.  Plimsoll  says  he  "  soon  got  rid  of  miserable  self 
pity  there. "  He  urges  that  workingmen  are  not  to  be 
estimated  merely  from  the  small  per  cent,  who  are  idle 
or  of  drinking  habits.  He  proceeds  to  say  that  "  emulous 
of  the  genuine  manhood  all  around  him,  he  "  set  to 
work  again,"  and  by  preparing  himself  more  thoroughly  for 
his  business  "  than  had  previously  been  considered  neces- 
sary," he  was  "  soon  strong  enough  to  live  more  in  accord- 
ance with  his  previous  life."  He  adds,  "  but  I  did  not 
leave  all  at  once.  I  wanted  to  learn  the  lesson  well  ;  and 
though  I  went  reluctantly,  I  remained  voluntarily,  because 
the  kindly  feelings  I  took  with  me  had  changed  into  hearty 
respect  and  admiration."  f 

He  recites  many  incidents  of  mutual  and  generous 
help,  and  gives  a  number  of  pathetic  incidents  of  be- 
reaved families  encountered  by  him  in  the  course  of 
the  investigations  he  has  made  of  late  years.  Mr.  Plim- 
soll deprecates  all  literary  character  and  merit  for  his  book, 
and  declares  that  he  would  not  have  written  it  had  he  not 
addressed  it  as  a  personal  appeal  to  a  correspondent. 
But  its  effect  is  in  some  respects  that  of  almost  the  highest 

*"Our  Seamen,'"  pp.  10S-9.  t  Ibid.  p.  no 


200  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

literary  art.  The  explanations  relating  to  the  ships  are 
lucid  and  clear,  and  at  the  close  the  reader  has  a  good 
idea  of  the  processes  of  the  "  homicidal  system  "  which 
he  has  fairly  denounced  as  murderous  in  character.  Re- 
membering that  the  House  of  Commons  which  listened 
awe-struck  to  PlimsoU's  outburst  on  the  23d  of  July, 
which  cheered  during  its  progress  and  only  interrupted 
when  he  became  apparently  indecorous,  is  practically  the 
same  assembly  that  a  few  years  ago  greeted  Gladstone  with 
ironical  cheers  and  laughter,  when  he  declared  the  unen- 
franchised masses  of  England  were  "  the  same  flesh  and 
blood  "  as  themselves,  and  that  the  London  press  which 
derided  Disraeli  and  sustained  PlimsoU,  is  the  same  that 
nicknamed  the  Liberal  Statesman  "Flesh  and  Blood" 
Gladstone,  in  scorn  of  his  so-called  sentimentalism,  it 
cannot  but  be  perceived  that  the  constant  infusion  of  the 
Democratic  spirit,  is  teaching  the  supercilious  that  there  is 
"  nothing  commoii  or  unclean  "  that  the  Divine  spirit  has 
created  and  blessed.  A  London  letter  in  the  N.  Y.  Herald 
cleverly  illustrates  by  the  PlimsoU  incident  how  Mr.  Dis- 
raeli mistakes  the  present  English  temper,  and  finds  excuse 
for  indifferentism  in  the  weariness  of  reformatory  politics 
which  there  as  else  were,  has  made  for  itself  a  temporary 
period  of  recuperation  before  it  goes  forward  to  more  serious 
ends.  The  correspondent  says  under  date  of  July  24,* 
that — 

"  The  reign  of  mutual  compliments  and  good  will,  of  the  inter- 
change of  bland  civility  and  deferential  courtesy  which  Mr.  Disraeli 
has  striven  not  unsuccessfully  to  introduce  at  Westminster,  was  very 

*N.  Y.  Herald,  August  8th,  1775. 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  20I 

suddenly  interrupted  *  *  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  Plimsoli 
incident  I  regard  as  the  natural  Nemesis  upon  the  principles  on  which 
the  Prime  Minister  has  undertaken  to  manage  Parliament.  Of  course, 
we  do  not  want  any  more  drastic  legislation  at  present.  We  want  to 
be  as  we  are,  at  rest,  and  we  are  thankful  accordingly.  But  Mr.  Dis- 
raeli, whose  theoretical  acquaintance  with  the  English  character  is  as 
profound  as  his  contempt  for  its  idiosyncratic  traits  is  sincere,  chooses 
to  convert  what  should  be  merely  a  season  of  politic  inaction  into  a 
period  of  bland  badinage.  It  was  said  by  Chamfort  of  the  ancient 
monarchy  of  France  that  it  was  a  monarchy  tempered  by  songs  ;  it 
may  be  said  with  equal  truth  of  the  government  of  Mr.  Disraeli  that 
it  is  a  despotism  tempered  by  jokes.  Perhaps  this  is  the  natural  reac- 
tion after  the  political  asceticism  and  gloom  of  the  Gladstonian  era, 
just  as  the  excesses  of  the  Stuart  Restoration  followed  upon  the  ar- 
tificial severity  of  Puritanism.  But  I  think  Mr.  Disraeli  has  already 
begun  to  go  too  far.  His  fooling  is  certainly  exquisite,  but  it  is  ex- 
cessive, and  the  British  Senate  is  beginning  to  rebel  against  it." 

Mr.  Disraeli  is  himself  a  compromise,  and  it  is  not 
possible  for  a  man  who  is  intellectuall}'^  "  shifty,"  to  under 
stand  the  spirit  which  makes  men  like  Mr.  Plimsoli  a  power. 
"  Flesh  and  Blood  "  more  than  "  facts  and  figures,"  except 
as  they  deal  with  them,  are  coming  to  the  front.  "  A 
clever  mountebank "  is  the  severe  judgment  some  have 
passed  on  the  English  conservative  leader.  It  cert-ainly 
seems  as  if  the  limits  of  his  power  were  found,  but  that  he 
is,  as  yet,  unconscious  of  the  fact.  His  aiiy  reference  to  the 
scene  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  the  "  Plimsoli  incident," 
at  a  subsequent  civic  dinner,  points  to  this,  and  his  mis- 
apiDrehension  of  the  spirit  in  which  his  purpose  to  throw 
over  a  bill  for  the  saving  of  human  life  in  order  that  he 
might  avoid  the  unpojxilarity  of  retaining  his  followers  be- 
yond the  period  at  which  their  annual  field  sports  usually 
begin,  has  been  received  by  the  people  of  whom  he  is  now 
the  chief  commoner,  illustrates  his  inability  to  regard  a 
9* 


202  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

thing  so  real  as  any  less  a  compromise  than  other  ordinary 
political  measures. 

The  Herald  writer,  who  is  probably  Edmund  Yates, 
judged  by  the  internal  evidence  of  the  style,  says  that — 

"  Mr.  PlimsoU  may  at  least  boast  that  he  has  studied  the  subject. 
By  profession  a  coal  merchant,  he  has  had  large  practical  insight 
into  the  details  of  our  system  of  marine  transit,  and  it  is  experience 
that  causes  him  to  feel  so  profoundly  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  he  is 
bent  on  remedying.  Where,  it  may  be  asked,  did  the  opposition  to  Mr. 
PlimsoU's  movement  originate  ?  Where  else  should  it  than  with  the 
representatives  of  the  shipping  interest  ?  The  gentry  who  metaphor- 
ically go  down  to  the  deep,  and  whose  business  is  thereon,  have  no 
motive  in  particular  for  caring  for  the  welfare  of  their  craft  or  for  that 
of  the  sailors  whom  they  employ.  The  former,  *  *  *  are  heavily 
insured.  The  latter  are  but  men  who,  if  they  are  lost  on  the  high  seas, 
can  be  replaced  easily.  Now,  the  shipping  interest — that  is,  the  in- 
terest of  the  ship-owners — is  represented  with  unusual  strength  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  it  is  from  the  representatives  of  this  class 
that  the  resistance  to  Mr.  PlimsoU's  agitation  proceeds.  Rightly  or 
wrongly,  Mr.  Plimsoll  regards  Mr.  Edward  Bates,  the  member  for 
Plymouth,  as  the  gentleman  immediately  interested  in  the  perpetuation 
of  these  many  abuses,  and  it  was  the  presence  of  this  gentleman 
which  raised  the  member  for  Derby  to  such  an  intensity  of  wrath.  *  * 
Mr.  Bates  is  a  conservative  of  the  new  type — a  wealthy,  one-ideaed 
merchant,  who  feels  that  he  has  a  stake  in  the  country,  and  that  he  must 
protect  his  interests.  The  House  of  Commons  is  just  now  swamped 
with  such  as  these,  and  Mr.  PlimsoU's  suspicions  are  at  least  plausi- 
ble. But  Mr.  Disraeli  can  afford  to  offend  Mr.  Plimsoll,  and  cannot 
afford  to  irritate  the  plutocrats,  shippers,  merchants  and  others  who 
are  the  backbone  of  the  conservative  party." 

Mr.  PlimsoU's  allegations  in  brief  are  that  under  the 
present  English  system,  or  want  of  one,  ships  are  constantly 
being  sent  to  sea  utterly  unfit  to  encounter  the  weather  ;  that 
they  are  regularly  overloaded  ;  that  they  are  in  many  cases 
over-insured ;  and  that  this  fact  is  a  premium  on  the  prac- 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  203 

tice  of  sending  to  sea  and  overloading  the  most  rotten  hulls 
as  well  as  those  otherwise  unseaworthy,  and  that  sailors, 
under  present  legislation  are  arbitrarily  compelled  to  sail 
in  a  vessel,  for  service  in  which  they  have  signed  articles, 
though  they  may  afterwards  become  conscious  of  her  utter 
unseaworthiness.  British  seamen  can  be  arrested  without 
warrant,  on  complaint  of  owner  or  captain,  and  taken 
aboard  their  vessel,  or  if  they  still  refuse  to  sail,  they  can, 
at  the  option  of  the  authorities,  be  imprisoned  for  several 
months  for  each  offence.  An  English  vessel  may,  unlike 
an  American  built  ship,  change  its  name  at  the  owner's 
will.  Here  it  cannot  be  done  without  the  consent  of  Con- 
gress, after  being  once  registered.  English  seamen  may 
be  discharged  at  will  in  a  foreign  port ;  an  American 
shipped  crew  cannot  be  so  dealt  with,  unless  there  be 
three  months'  extra  wages  paid  over  to  the  consul  for  the 
men's  use,  and  to  prevent  them  becoming  a  public  charge. 
The  bill  which  Mr.  Disraeli  roused  Mr.  Plimsoll's  righte- 
ous indignation  by  attempting  to  postpone,  only  attempted  to 
extend  to  the  British  Board  of  Trade  more  power  to  do 
what  was  in  principle  already  conceded  to  it ;  namely,  to 
prevent  unseaworthy  ships  from  sailing,  and  to  see  to  it 
that  ships  were  not  overloaded.  These  two  are  the  prac- 
tical points  towards  which  Mr.  Plimsoll's  agitation  and  de- 
mands have  lately  tended.  They  do  not  cover  all  that  he 
deems  necessary.  Tlie  bill  which  he  himself  introduced 
provides  in  addition  for  the  compulsory  survey  of  all  mer- 
chant ships, — a  measure  which  is  now  optional  with  the 
owner.  Of  the  measure  brought  forward  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  place  of  this  one,  Mr.  G.  W.  Smalley  writes  to 
the  New  York  Trihmie  that  the  bill  "  is  pregnant  with  no 


204  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

•  principle,  or  none  that  is  new.  The  object  is  only  to  ena- 
ble the  executive  to  do  more  rapidly  what  they  can  do 
already  :  stop  unseaworthy  vessels  about  to  leave  British 
ports.  That  power  was  given  by  the  acts  of  187 1  and 
1873  to  the  Board  of  Trade.  Under  these  acts  they 
have  during  the  last  two  years  stopped  558  ships  for  sur- 
vey and  58  because  overloaded ;  and  all  the  latter  and 
nearly  all  the  former  proved  unseaworthy.  The  process  of 
detention,  however,  is  not  summary,  and  there  are  not  offi- 
cers enough.  The  present  bill  enables  the  Government  to 
appoint  forthwith  a  sufficient  number  of  officers,  with — 
as  far  as  can  be  made  out  from  Sir  Charles  Adderley's 
rather  confused  account — powers  to  stop  vessels  on  their 
own  discretion.  The  bill  does  nothing  more  than  this,  ex- 
cept to  free  sailors  (when  one-fourth  of  the  crew  complain 
that  their  ship  is  unseaworthy)  from  responsibility  for 
costs  if  she  proves  not  so,  and  does  not  oblige  them  to  de- 
sert in  order  to  complain.  Against  inward  bound  ships, 
which  drown  more  sailors  than  outward  bound,  no  power 
is  given." 

He  adds  an  account  of  the  opposition  indignation  to 
the  insufficient  measure  and  writes — 

"  The  Times  declares  that  the  new  bill  does  not  bear  out 
the  prom.ise  given,  and  will  not  do  even  as  a  makeshift  for 
the  couTjng  winter.  The  Standard \X.%it\i  admits  the  House 
did  not  relish  Sir  C.  Adderley's  proposals,  and  while  it 
does  not  believe  Mr.  PlimsoH's  bill  can  be  passed,  pro-" 
nounces  its  principles  sound,  and  advises  the  Government 
to  adopt  it  in  part.  If  they  refuse,  there  will  still  be  time 
for  other  meetings  to  repeat  the  demands  of  those  already 
held — possibly  even  to  convince  the  Government  that  for 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  205 

once  it  is  wiser  to  legislate  in  accordance  with  a  public 
opinion  so  overwhelming  as  to  be  practically  unanimous."* 
Mr.  Plimsoll  explains  in  "  Our  Seamen  "  how  it  is  pos- 
sible to  make  over-insurance  so  general.  "  Lloyd's  Under- 
writers "  are  not  as  in  the  United  States,  chartered  insur- 
ance corporations,  but  private  persons  and  firms,  whose 
general  designation  is  derived  from  their  having  first  met 
in  "Lloyd's  "  cofi^ee-room,  near  the  London  Exchange.  The 
business  is  conducted  through  shipbrokers,  who,  acting  for 
the  owners,  proceed  to  the  underwriters'  room,  and  offer 
the  different  risks  that  may  have  been  given  them.  There 
are  perhaps  fifty  persons  present  engaged  in  marine  under- 
writing, and  the  several  risks  may  each  be  divided  among 
one-half  or  the  whole.  So  if  a  vessel  is  lost,  the  total  to 
each  individual  or  firm  is  usually  too  small  for  them  to 
contest  payment,  however  much  they  may  be  convinced  of 
the  scandalous  nature  of  the  transaction.  The  ship  own- 
ers are  the  power  in  these  cases  ;  not  the  underwriters,  as 
is  usually  the  case  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  was 
stated  by  the  secretary  of  Lloyd's  Register,  an  institution 
unconnected  with  the  underwiiters,  that  no  British  vessel 
had  been  broken  up  for  thirty  years  past.  They  are  sent 
to  sea  until  they  founder  and  fall  apart  from  utter  rotten- 
ness. Lloyd's  Register  or  classification  is  a  mercantile  con- 
venience which  grew  up  in  consequence  of  the  extension 
of  marine  underwriting.  It  is  a  merely  voluntary  maiine 
survey,  and  to  honest  ship-owners,  as  Mr.  Plimsoll  has  re- 
peatedly asserted  the  majority  are,  a  great  convenience 
and  advantage,  making  their  ships   more  saleable,  if  they 

*  N.  Y.  Tribune,  August  9th,  1875. 


206  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

desire  to  dispose  of  them.     To  follow  the  details  of  ship- 
owning  practices,  as  described  by  Mr.  Plimsoll,  would  fill  a 
goodly   volume.       Extracts   from    speeches  made    at  the 
Liverpool  Trades  Congress  in  April,  1875,  by  Mr.  Plim- 
soll and  some  of  the  delegates — practical  shipwrights  and 
workmen — will  best  illustrate  these  practices.   Mr.  Knight, 
a  leading  mechanic  employed  in   iron   shipbuilding,  said  : 
*     *     "  To-day  the  vessels  that  were  built  were  composed 
of  the   worst  materials  that  could   possibly  be  got.     He 
had  seen  piles  of  iron  plates  punched  and  almost  every  two 
out   of  three   were  broken  before  they  were  put  on  the 
sides  of  vessels.     He  had  seen  the  iron  so  bad  that  when 
the  plates  were  open  after  they  had  been  fastened  to  the 
side  they  could  not  be  caulked  with  the  proper  material 
because  the  iron  would  not  stand  it.     Another  thing  to  be 
complained  of  was  inferior  workmanship  ;  and  this  arose 
to  a  great  extent  from   the  abolishing   of  the   apprentice 
system.     Scarcely  one  lad  out  of  thirty  employed  in   the 
yards  was  ever  bound  to  the  trade  of  iron  shipbuilder. 
Men  went  into  the  yards  at  the  ages  of  24  to  27,  having 
worked  before  in  attending  masons.     Other  evils  were  the 
cuiting   down   of  prices   by  employers,  and    piece   work. 
*     *     *     The  piece-work  system  only  made  even  good 
men  scamp  their  work,  because   the  prices  were  so  low 
they  could  not  make  a  living  at  their  work.     There  should 
also  be  an  inspection   of    ships  by  practical  men."     Mr. 
Morgan,  a  ship-carpenter,  described  wooden  ships  so  rot- 
ten that  a  stick  could  almost  be  driven  through  their  sides, 
and  said  he  had  worked  himself  on  a  ship  where  in  order 
to  drive  and  fasten  a  staple  an  iron  plate  had  to  be  placed 
on  the  other  side. 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  207. 

Ml".  Mathew  Callahan,  Treasurer  of  the  "  Liverpool 
Seamen's  Protective  Society,"  offered  a  resolution  to  sup- 
port a  measure  embodying  the  following  principles  : — 

I .  "  That  there  shall  be  a  compulsory  periodical  survey  of  all 
merchant  ships,  under  the  authority  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  such  sur- 
vey to  include  the  hull,  spars,  sails,  rigging,  machinery,  and  gear,  to 
prevent  ships  being  sent  to  sea  in  an  unseaworthy  condition;  2,  that 
an  officer  of  the  Board  of  Trade  shall  inspect  the  forecastle  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  seamen,  and  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the 
stores  and  provisions  for  the  sailors  ;  3,  that  there  shall  be  a  load-line 
or  conspicuous  mark  on  each  vessel,  showing  the  depth  of  loading 
and  of  surplus  buoyancy,  and  that  some  rule  of  freeboard  be  enforced 
to  prevent  vessels  being  overladen;  4,  that  each  ship,  according  to  her 
tonnage,  shall  be  efficiently  manned  by  able  seamen  ;  that  examinations 
in  practical  seamanship  be  established,  and  certificates  of  competency 
be  granted  to  able  seamen,  the  use  of  false  certificates  to  be  punished 
as  a  misdemeanor  ;  5,  that  apprenticeships  be  restored  under  proper 
regulations  and  conditions,  and  that  the  number  of  foreigners  in  Brit- 
ish shipe  be  limited  to  at  least  one-third  of  the  crew;  6,  that  advance 
notes  be  abolished,  and  in  lieu  thereof  that  allotment  notes  be  granted 
of  two-thirds  the  monthly  pay  to  those  who  require  it  for  the  use 
of  their  families  ;  7,  that  wages  due  to  seamen  be  paid  immediately 
on  the  termination  of  the  voyage,  or  if  not  paid  within  two  days,  that 
they  be  compensated  with  extra  pay  for  being  kept  waiting ;  8,  that 
punishment  for  breach  of  contract,  or  of  articles  of  agreement  by 
owners,  or  masters  and  crew,  be  placed  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equal- 
ity ;  9,  that  local  admiralty  courts  be  established  in  all  ports  for  the  set- 
tlement of  disputes." 

Mr.  Plimsoll  is  a  popular  as  well  as  an  excitable  speak- 
er. His  words  do  not  halt  by  the  way,  but  usually  mus- 
ter and  march  with  speed,  swift  to  the  purpose  before  him. 
He  has  no  hesitation  in  using  good,  simple  Anglo-Saxon 
terms,  and  is  as  direct  in  public  meetings  as  he  was  before 
the  House  of  Commons,  when  he  described  the  "  burglar- 
ious intention  "  with  which  his  bill  was  "  burked  ;  "  or  of 


208  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

speaking  of  the  "  maritime  murderers  inside  and  outside 
the  House,"  who  aim  to  "  secure  a  continuance  of  the 
murderous  system."  The  expressive  epithet  of  "  Ship- 
knackers "  applied  to  a  class  of  men  who  never  own  a 
sound  ship,  and  seldom  any,  but  charter  old  and  worthless 
crafts,  and  send  them  to  destruction  and  their  crews  to 
death,  is  a  term  which  in  England  will  be  enjoyed  for  its 
racy  directness.  There  is  a  regular  occupation,  in  London 
and  other  large  cities,  of  men  known  as  the  "  Knackers." 
It  consists  in  buying  old  and  worn-out  horses,  as  well  as 
buying  and  removing  dead  ones.  If  there  is  any  work 
left  in  the  former  it  is  utilized  till  the  last.  Then  the  ani- 
mal is  killed.  The  flesh  is  generally  converted  into  food  for 
dogs  and  cats,  in  the  sale  of  which  there  is  a  large 
trade  and  a  considerable  number  of  persons  employed. 
To  say  that  a  horse  is  only  fit  for  the  "  Knackers'  yard  "  is 
to  say  that  it  ought  to  be  dead.  The  applicability  of  the 
term  to  the  purchaser  of  rotten  ships  can  readily  be  made. 
At  Liverpool  Mr.  PlimsoU  said  : — 

"  There  were  people  who  bought  old  ships,  and  only  old  ships — 
who  never  had  a  good  ship,  and  never  meant  to  have  a  good  ship — and 
sent  them  to  sea ;  and  the  public  curiosity  was  excited  to  know 
what  the  government  meant  to  do  to  stop  that  sort  of  thing,  and  who 
the  people  were  who  could  sleep  in  their  beds  when  their  bread  was, 
so  to  speak,  made  out  of  dead  men's  bones."  * 

*  From  a  return  issued  July,  1875,  by  the  Board  of  Trade,it  appears 
that  of  the  total  number  of  vessels  detained  by  the  Board  of  Trade 
under  the  Act  of  1873,  for  "  alleged  unseaworthiness,"  there  were 
found  seaworthy,  15;  found  unseaworthy,  464 ;  survey  pending,  18 — ■ 
total  stopped,  497.  Forty-eight  more  were  stopped  for  ''alleged  over- 
loading," and  the  Return  states  that  "  in  no  instance  in  which  the  Act 
has  been  put  in  force  has  the  allegation  of  overloading  or  impropei 
loading  been  found  groundless." 


SAMUEL    PLIMSOLL.  209 

Again,  in  describing  the  manner  in  which  ships'  hulls 
were  weakened  by  lengthening  amidships  and  other  ways, 
he  said  in  the  same  speech  that — 

"*  *  He  had  since  given  information  of  two  sliips  whicli  were 
single  riveted  where  they  ought  to  be  double  riveted,  which  were  cut 
in  two  and  lengthened  with  the  same  scantling,  and  in  which  big  beams 
had  beer  cut  away  to  make  room  for  tanks,  steam  engines,  and 
thrashing  machines,  without  proper  means  having  been  taken  to 
strengthen  them.  He  thought  people  who  were  content  to  make 
money  like  that — well !  they  used  to  hang  people  ;  and  they  had  hanged 
a  great  many  people  who  were  better  than  some  ship-owners." 

In  retorting  on  a  ship-owner  who  was  present,  spoke 
to  the  Congress  and  had  described  his  speech  as  "  sensa- 
tional,"' Mr.  Plimsoll  said  : — 

"  He  had  no  doubt  it  was,  because  he  felt  strongly  on  the  subject ; 
but  it  was  a  veiy  sensational  thing  to  be  drowned,  and  he  wanted  to 
stop  that." 

It  is  this  intense  sincerity  which  has  made  Mr.  Plimsoll 
a  power,  which  will  keep  him  a  popular  public  man  in 
other  movements,  and  which  prevented  his  anger  in  the 
House  of  Commons  from  becoming  merely  sensational, 
and  lent  to  the  solemn  denunciation  with  which  he  closed 
his  very  remarkable  protest,  somewhat  of  the  same  spirit 
that  must  have  dictated  the  words  which  he  quotes  with 
such  terrible  force : 

"  In  the  name  of  the  God  of  all  justice  and  of  all  mercy  I  protest 
against  any  further  delay.  I  demand  that  the  Merchant  Shipping  bill 
be  proceeded  with  from  this  hour  de  die  in  diem  until  through  committee, 
and  failing  this,  I  lay  upon  the  head  of  the  Prime  Minister  and  his  fel- 
lows the  blood  of  all  the  men  who  shall  perish  next  winter  from  pre- 
ventible  causes,  and  I  denounce  against  him  and  against  them  the 
wrath  of  that  God  who  hath  said,  '  Ye  shall  not  afflict  any  widow  or 
fatherless  child.     If  thou  afflict  them  in  any  wise,  and  they  cry  at  all 


2IO  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

unto  me,  I  will  surely  hear  their  cry,  and  my  wrath  shall  wax  hot,  and 
I  will  kill  you  with  the  sword,  and  your  wives  shall  be  widows,  and 
your  children  fatherless.'  How  much  hotter  must  be  his  indignation 
and  wrath  against  those  who  reduce  unhappy  women  and  children  to 
that  deplorable  condition,  and  who  leave  their  own  fellow-creatures, 
guilty  of  no  crime,  to  a  violent  and  sudden  death  !  " 

Mr.  Plimsoll's  personal  and  public  vindication  was 
rendered  complete  by  his  subsequent  withdrawal  of  the 
unparliamentary  language  used  in  the  House,  without 
retraction  of  any  alleged  facts  as  stated  by  him  in  his  me- 
morable outbreak.  To  this  was  added  the  subsequent 
passage  of  a  Shipping  Bill,  which  provides  provisionally 
for  two  of  Mr.  Plimsoll's  important  demands  : — i.  The 
appointment  of  competent  surveyors  to  examine  ships  as 
to  their  seaworthiness  ;  2.  Allowing  one-fourth  of  a  crew  to 
lay  complaint,  or  if  their  number  exceeds  twenty,  any  five 
of  them,  and  requiring  the  examination  of  a  vessel  as  to 
overloading  or  seaworthiness,  without  being  required  to 
give  surety  for  cost  of  detention,  as  now  required.  Mr. 
Plimsoll  gave  notice  before  the  session  of  Parliament 
closed,  that  he  should  move  at  the  next  session  for  a  Com- 
mission of  inquiry  into  marine  insurance,  its  nature,  risks, 
business,  etc.,  and  should  press  a  more  elaborate  measure 
for  the  protection  of  life  and  property  at  sea. 


XIII. 


Sir  Wilfred  Lawson. 


HE  habits  of  the  English  people  are  so  fixed,— 
especially  in  the  maintenance  of  their  personal 
customs,  as  not  to  be  lightly  dealt  with.  No  one 
obtaining  entrance  into  public  life  and  selfishly  seeking 
public  favor  would  deliberately  select,  if  choosing  an  issue 
or  hobby  to  champion,  such  a  one  as  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  has  taken  under  guardianship.  The  last  place  in 
the  kingdom,  wherein  to  advocate  the  Prohibitory  Liquor 
Law,  would  seem  to  be  the  House  of  Commons.  There 
are  men  of  single  ideas  and  purposes  who  have  won  large 
places  for  themselves,  in  a  legislative  body,  which  though 
flattered  as  the  "  best  club  in  Europe,"  often  appears  to  a 
looker-on  to  be  a  nearer  approach  to  a  bear  garden,  and 
is  moreover  an  assembly  whose  prejudices  are  more  easily 
roused  and  more  difficult  to  overcome  than  is  the  case  with 
any  other  similar  body  in  the  world.  And  of  all  questions 
on  which  to  obtain  a  hearing,  or  through  which  to  become 
recognized  and  esteemed,  that  of  liquor  legislation  would 
appear  to  be  the  most  dubious. 


212  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Sir  Wilfred  Lawson,  Bart.,  President  of  the  United 
Kingdom  Temperance  Alliance,  and  author  of  the  "  Per- 
missive Liquor  Bill,"  has  however  accomplished  that 
remarkable  feat.  A  recent  letter  published  in  the  Boston 
Post  says  of  the  member  for  Carlisle, — the  city  formerly  so 
long  represented  by  Lord  John  Manners, — that : 

"  Sir  Wilfred's  special  hobby  is  prohibition.  He  as 
regularly  introduces  a  "Permissive  Bill  "  into  the  House  of 
Commons  ever}-  year  as  the  late  Mr.  Berkeley,  of  Bristol, 
did  a  "  Ballot  Bill,"  thinking  perhaps  that  by  a  similar  per- 
sistency he  will  meet  with  a  similar  final  success.  He  is  the 
chief  of  the  famous  United  Kingdom  Temperance  Alli- 
ance, a  large  and  powerful  body,  with  ^150,000  at  its  dis- 
posal, and  having  the  object  of  promoting  temperance  by 
political  enactment.  But  Sir  Wilfred  is  far  from  being  a 
stiff  and  sour  fanatic.  Strange  to  say,  this  great  temper- 
ance advocate,  who  absolutely  refuses  to  let  the  House  live 
in  peace,  never  bores  it,  and  is  always  welcome  when  he 
rises  to  speak.  He  is  in  fact  one  of  the  most  genial  and 
popular  of  all  Her  Majesty's  knights  and  burgesses.  Not 
only  a  prohibitionist,  but  also  a  radical  of  radicals,  he  is 
yet  socially  hand  in  glove  with  the  most  obstinate  of  Tory 
squires  in  the  House.  He  puts  his  case  in  so  witty  and 
genial  a  way  that  even  the  twenty-five  brewers  who  sit  as 
members  of  Parliament  cannot  find  it  in  their  hearts  to 
stay  away  from  the  treat  of  hearing  him.  Moreover,  he 
has  wit — I  doubt  if  there  is  a  wittier  speaker  in  England  ; 
certainly,  since  the  defeat  of  Bernal  Osborne,  he  has  not  a 
rival  for  wit  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  does  not  pre- 
tend to  be  a  teetotaller,  nor  does  he  profess  to  desire  to 
enact   teetotalism   as  a  statute.     He  essays   to  provide  a 


SIR    WILFRED    LAWSON.  2  I  3 

mild  check  upon  the  intemperance  of  the  country.  In- 
deed, for  a  rider  of  a  hobby,  Sir  Wilfred  is  exceedingly 
reasonable  and  moderate."  On  the  last  occasion  of  intro- 
ducing the  permissive  bill,  which  is  regularly  done  at  every 
session,  "  there  were  nearly  five  hundred  members — a  re- 
markable House — present  to  listen  to  him." 

This  Parliamentary  leader  of  the  temperance  issue,  is 
the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson,  Baronet,  of 
Brayton,  Cumberland,  and  is  now  himself  the  wearer  of 
the  title  and  possessor  of  the  family  estate.  A  remarkable 
individuality  of  character  and  ability  evidently  runs  through 
the  family.  The  Baronet's  brother,  William,  now  a  resident 
of  Massachusetts,  is  very  well  known  to  many  persons  in 
the  United  States,  having  travelled  extensively  therein, 
and  having  been  a  careful  student  of  our  institutions,  and 
also  from  his  connection  with  a  remarkable  agricultural 
co-operative  experiment  at  Blennerhassett  Farm,  near 
Brayton,  the  results  of  which  he  has  told  in  a  very  inter- 
esting volume.*  In  the  first  chapter  Mr.  Lawson  describes 
the  method  followed  by  h-is  father  in  educating  his  sons. 
He  says  : — 

"  I  had  the  advantage  of  being  the  son  of  parents  who 
were  more  anxious  that  their  children  should  be  happy  and 
good  than  that  they  should  be  learned  or  great.  My  father 
had  my  education  conducted — in  a  religious  manner — at 
home,  where  I  acquired  a  little  Latin  and  Greek,  and  a 
few  other  things  ;  and  where,  as  is  the  case  with  many 
other  youths,  anything  in  the  shape  of  lessons  were  not  at- 
tractive  to  me,  and  I  learned  as  little  as  possible.     I  had, 

*  "  Ten  Years  of  Gentleman  Farming." 


214  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

before  I  was  eighteen,  travelled  several  times  on  the  Con 
tinent  of  Europe,  and  had  visited  Eg}'pt  and  Palestine  ; 
but  circumstances  never  brought  me  in  contact  with  rich  or 
great  people,  and  I  had  not  much  of  what  is  called  "  knowl- 
edge of  the  world ; "  nor,  as  I  always  had  the  prospect  of 
enough  wealth  to  enable  me  to  live  without  working,  did  I 
form  what  are  called  "business  habits."  Trained  as  a 
shooter  of  animals,  a  hunter  of  Cumberland  beasts  with 
hounds,  and  a  trapper  of  vermin,  I  found  myself  in  the 
spring  of  1861,  in  my  25th  year,  without  an  occupation; 
without  many  acquaintances, — except  among  the  poor, 
whom  I  had  not  learned  to  despise  because  they  spoke  bad 
grammar,  and  took  their  coats  off  to  work  ; — and  without 
the  reputation  of  having  been  successful  in  any  under- 
taking except  that  of  the  mastership  and  huntsmanship  of 
my  brother's  fox-hounds." 

The  younger  brother  takes  life  seriously — like  Mr. 
Gladstone  "  on  the  Treasury  benches,"  he  is  always  in 
earnest, — and  being  without  the  genial  humor  and  clear  wit 
of  his  brother,  the  Baronet,  could  not  and  does  not  make 
a  fair  public  appearance.  But  the  allusions  made  to  their 
paternal  home  show  the  character  of  the  influences  that 
surrounded  them  both,  illustrating  how  in  their  own  way 
each  has  struggled  for  the  amelioration  and  advancement 
of  their  country  and  its  people. 

The  temperance  agitation  in  Great  Britain,  though 
often  marked  with  features  somewhat  akin  to  the  fever 
and  excitement  of  the  Moody  and  Sankey  "  revivals," — as 
witness  Father  Mathew's  crusade  and  progress, — has  not,  as 
in  the  United  States,  had  the  support  of  any  considerable 
body  belonging  to  the   "  ruling"  and  respectable    classes. 


SIR    WILFRED    LAWSON.  215 

Not  until  late  years  has  it  exercised  a  perceptible  influence 
on  public  opinion,  in  any  wide  spread  or  national  sense. 

"  The  United  Kingdom  Temperance  Alliance,"  which 
had  before  confined  itself  to  "  moral  suasion  "  entirely, 
took  a  "  new  departure"  in  October,  1857,  and  commenced 
an  agitation  m  behalf  of  the  Permissive  Liquor  bill.  The 
purpose  of  the  measure  is  shown  by  the  following  state- 
ment :  The  bill  provides  that  on  application  of  any  Dis- 
trict (meaning  the  civil  divisions  called  parishes,  or  the 
boroughs  and  any  sub-division  of  them  ;)  the  votes  of  the 
rate-payers  shall  be  taken  as  to  the  propriety  of  adopting 
the  provisions  of  this  act  ;  but  that  a  two-third  vote  shall 
be  necessary  for  any  affirmative.  When  adopted  it  pro- 
hibits all  liquor  traffic  in  the  District  for  common  purposes. 
In  other  words  the  Lawson  bill  is  in  intent  similar  to  the 
measures  offered  in  several  of  our  State  Legislatures  un- 
der the  name  of  "  local  option"  laws.  The  first  division 
had  in  the  House  of  Commons  was  in  1863,  and  polled 
forty  members  in  the  affirmative.  In  1869,  the  bill  received 
ninety-four  votes. 

The  out-of-door  agitation  has  been  persistent ;  growing 
year  by  year  in  activity  and  interest.  The  7»;/i?j' has  treat- 
ed Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  and  the  Alliance  with  more  than 
ordinary  respect  •  the  most  significant  tribute  which  has 
as  yet  been  paid  to  the  movement's  growth  and  import- 
ance. The  "Licensed  Victuallers  Association,"  as  the 
Guild  or  Trades  society  of  inn-holders  and  keepers  of 
public  houses  is  termed,  is  a  wealthy  and  powerful  body, 
exercising  a  great  influence  and  welded  together  by  the 
strongest  ties  of  self-interest.  It  represents  an  important 
"  vested  interest," — one  of   those  which  a  British  legisla- 


2l6  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

tor  ordinarily  regards  as  specially  committed  to  his  cares. 
"  Interests,"  not  men  and  women,  except  as  their  well 
being  affects,  "  interests"  and  property,  are  regarded  as 
the  chief  object  of  solicitude  for  which  that  remarkable 
mixture  of  fiction  and  fact,  precedents  and  principles,  known 
as  the  "  British  Constitution,"  was  believed  to  have  been 
framed  and  recognised.  An  examination  of  Hansard 
will  show  that  the  "  Malt  Tax,"  and  excise  regulations  in 
relation  to  this  traffic,  have  occupied  a  very  large  share  of 
legislative  attention  during  the  last  half  centur}^  From 
the  drinking  habits  of  the  people,  the  Government  derives 
a  considerable  portion  of  its  revenue.  The  consumption 
of  articles  paying  duty  or  excise,  as  intoxicating  liquors, 
was  per  capita,  at  the  dates  named,  as  follow^s  : 

1853  1863  1873 

Wine,  gallons,  0.25  0.35  0.56 

Malt,  bushels,  1.49  1.67  1.98 

Spirits,  home  and  foreign,  gall,   i.io  0.85  1.23 

As  compared  with  imported  or  exciseable  articles  of 
food,  such,  for  instance,  as  bacon,  butter,  cheese,  eggs, 
sugar,  tea,  etc.,  the  proportion  is  quite  large,  though  pro- 
bably not  so  much  so  as  it  appears  in  the  common  argu- 
ments of  the  Alliance  advocates.  In  the  foregoing  figures 
it  will  be  perceived  that  the  increase  in  twenty  years  of 
the  consumption  of  wines  and  of  spirits,  is  much  greater 
than  that  of  malt  liquors.  Still  the  intemperance  of  the 
British  masses  is  so  great  a  fact  in  the  sum-total  of  their 
improvidence,  pauperism  and  vice,  that  it  is  really  strange 
that  tl've  Alliance  had  not  at  an  earlier  day  the  support 
of  the  many  notable  persons  who  are  now  found  on  its 
platforms,  or  contributing  to  its  at  present  large  fund.     As 


SIR  WILFRED    LAWSON.  2  I  7 

now  constituted,  it  does  not  follow  that  all  who  sustain 
its  efforts  are  themselves  abstainers  from  all  intoxicating 
liquors.  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  himself  does  not  make  stren- 
uous demands  for  this,  or  do  more  than  urge,  as  he  did  in 
a  notable  speech  at  Sunderland,  that  Parliament  "  go  to 
the  people  "  with  the  question  he  presents.     He  said  : 

"  I  won't  touch  the  licensing  power  with  my  tongue.  For  genera- 
tions the  House  of  Commons  has  protected  over  it;  and  the  cleverest 
men  have  tried  their  hands  at  it,  and  I  am  not  going  to  make  a  fool 

of  myself  by  trying  to  bring  in  any  licensing  bill." 

This  was  doubtless  said  in  reference  to  the  advice 
repeatedly  urged  by  the  Hon.  John  Bright  and  others 
with  whom  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  has  acted  in  all  other 
political  matters,  that  he  should  draft  and  present  some 
stringent  license  measure,  for  which  they  could  all  vote. 

"That,"  continued  the  Baronet,  "is  not  the  object  of  my  bill.  We 
leave  the  licenses  with  the  magistrates,  if  licenses  are  to  be  granted  at 
all ;  but  we  move  the  previous  question ;  we  say,  go  to  the  people 
and  ask  whether  they  want  licenses  at  all  ;  we  go  in  the  old-fashioned 
way.  I  say,  keep  the  power  of  electing  the  best  men  in  the  best 
houses ;  bad  as  they  are  at  the  best,  go  on  doing  the  best.  In  those 
places  where  the  people,  by  a  large  majority,  say  we  will  have  no 
licenses,  there  the  magistrates  shall  stop  their  evil  work,  and  the  people 
shall  be  free." 

The  strength  of  this  agitation,  or  rather  of  its  effects, 
may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  passage,  in  1872,  of  a  law 
shortening  the  hours  to  which  public  houses  could  be  kept 
open  at  night,  giving  more  power  to  magistrates  assembled 
in  the  Quarter  Sessions,  to  grant  or  withdraw  licenses,  and 
requiring  a  register  of  all  offences  committed  in  public 
houses  and  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  aided  very  mate- 
rially in  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  ministry  when,  soon 


2l8  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

after,  Parliament  was  dissolved,  and  an  appeal  was  made 
to  the  country.  The  "  Licensed  Victuallers  "  with  the 
brewers  and  distillers,  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost 
against  the  Ministry  and  its  supporters.  It  speaks  well 
for  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson's  personal  popularity  that  he  was 
returned  for  Carlisle,  as  before,  at  the  head  of  the  poll. 

In  the  House  of  Commons  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  is 
among  those  whom  the  author  of  "  Men  and  Manner 
in  Parliament"  notes  as  independent  members.  After  a 
witty  reference  to  the  length  of  Mr.  Mundella's  speeches, 
this  author  writes :  "  It  is  a  pleasant  change  when,  from 
the  seat  below.  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  rises  to  discourse  on 
the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic  or  the  evils  of  war.  '  The  hon- 
orable and  amusing  baronet,'  as  Mr.  Knatchbull-Huges- 
sen,  himself  never  guilty  of  being  amusing,  peevishly 
called  him,  has  done  what  few  men  have  accomiDlished. 
He  has  thrown  an  air  of  gentility  over  teetotalism,  and 
has  made  '  a  man  with  a  mission '  a  welcome  interloper 
in  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons.  As  a  rule  Parlia- 
ment votes  men  with  missions  impracticable  bores,  and 
will  not  listen  to  them.  But  it  is  always  ready  to  hear  Sir 
Wilfred  Lawson,  and  is  rarely  disappointed  in  its  expecta- 
tion of  being  interested  and  amused." 

He  has  a  way  of  seizing  a  commonplace  idea,  dressing 
it  up  in  some  incongruous  fashion,  and  suddenly  producing 
it  for  the  consideration  of  the  House  of  Commons.  The 
simple  glory  of  war  was  illustrated  by  Sir  Wilfred  Law- 
son  "  when,  a  few  nights  after  both  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment had  voted  their  thanks  to  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  and 
his  troops,  he  incidentally  summed  up  the  practical  re- 
sults  of    the    expedition    as   being   comprised   in    Great 


SIR    WILFRED    LAWSON.  2ig 

Britain's    having  gained  possession    of  "a  treaty  and  an 
old  umbrella."  * 

In  further  illustration  of  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson's  power  of 
graphic  illustration  and  humorous  wit,  T.  H.  S.  Escott,  a 
keen  and  observing  writer,  speaks  of  the  Baronet  as  re- 
deeming the  session  of  1874  from  the  "absolute  dulness  of 
monotony."  He  thus  describes  the  House  on  one  of  the 
Permissive  Bill  divisions  : — 

"  Let  the  reader  suppose  that  it  is  a  Wednesday  in  June- 
The  speaker  took  the  chair  at  12  o'clock.  The  motions 
and  notices  of  motion  are  speedily  dispatched,  and  it  is 
understood  that  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  will  be  allowed,  for  the 
ventilation  of  his  hobby,  the  period  that  must  elapse  be- 
fore the  hour  hand  of  the  clock,  just  under  the  Peer's  gal- 
lery, points  to  the  fatal  ten  minutes  to  six.  On  hearing 
the  order  of  the  day.  Sir  Wilfred  merely  moves  that  the 
Bill  be  read  a  second  time,  reserving  himself  for  its  fuller 
advocacy  till  later  in  the  afternoon.  It  is  but  a  languish- 
ing and  wearisome  talk  up  to  three  o'clock.  The  Speaker, 
bored  presumably  to  exhaustion,  adjourns  for  a  chop, 
returning  in  ten  minutes.  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  rises  ;  *  * 
and  in  a  very  short  time  the  house  is  full.  It  is  Sir 
Wilfred  Lawson's  special  vocation  to  show  that  compulsory 
teetotalisni  and  solemn  dulness  need  not  go  together,  that 

*  "  No  Treaty  1 "  shouted  out  an  honorable  member  anxious  for 
truth,  "  well,  never  mind  !  "  said  Sir  Wilfred ;  it  doesn't  much  matter, 
for  I  don't  suppose  the  treaty  would  be  worth  any  more  than  the  um- 
brella ?'  The  honorable  baronet's  style  of  speaking  is  well  suited  to 
his  humor,  and  greatly  adds  to  its  effect.  He  does  not  *  *  make 
a  speech  to  the  House.  He  just  has  a  chat  with  it,  and  being  a  man 
of  sense  and  humor  he  is  a  thoroughly  enjoyable  companion. — "  Mer 
and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  pp.  152-4. 


2  20  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

cold  water  and  witticisms  are  not  necessarily  inconsistent, 
and  that  the  praises  of  Rechabitism  afford  just  as  good  an 
opportunity  for  the  exhibition  of  sportive  fancy  and  a  lively 
humor  as  lyrical  panegyrics  on  the  most  exquisite  vintage 
of  France  or  the  Rhine.  *  *  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  is 
always  ready  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  business,  and, 
even  though  the  theme  of  total  abstinence  is  not  under 
discussion  to  lend  him  its  glowing  inspiration,  he  will  find 
his  inspiration  in  any  casual  topic  that  may  crop  up.  When 
the  honorable  baronet  is  fairly  launched  upon  his  theme, 
every  alternate  sentence  that  drops  from  his  lips  is  the 
signal  for  an  outburst  of  '  loud  laughter.'  He  welcomes 
those  ebullitions  of  merriment,  as  he  informs  his  audieiice, 
with  grateful  satisfaction,  for  the  cause  which  at  first  ])ro- 
vokes  smiles  is,  he  remarks,  generally  in  the  end  crowned 
with  triumph."  * 

But  amused  as  is  the  House  of  Commons  at  the  speeches 
of  the  champion  of  this  legislation,  it  is  not  to  be  set  down  that 
Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  is  no  more  than  the  "  Professor  of  the 
art  of  buffoonery,"  which  Mr.  Escott  says,  in  speaking  of 
him,  that  the  House  of  Commons  requires  to  make  up  its 
usual  characteristic.  He  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  very  cool, 
clear-headed,  logical  and  persistent  worker  in  a  yet  unpop- 
ular field,  who  uses  the  intellectual  weapons  at  his  disposal 
with  an  effect  which  is  yearly  becoming  more  apparent  in 
the  gains  the  movement  he  leads  is  making  in  Parliament 
and  before  the  country.  In  general  politics.  Sir  Wilfred 
Lawson  is  counted  among  the  more   moderate   Radicals  ; 


*"The    House  of    Commons:    its  '  Personnel '  and  its  Orator}-." 
Preiser's,  October,  1874. 


SIR    WILFRED    LAWSOX.  22  1 

interested  mainly  in  ameliorative  policies  and  measures, 
such  as  National  Education — Arbitration  as  a  substitute  for 
War,  and  for  strikes  and  lock-outs  in  labor  disputes, — the 
reduction  of  taxes  and  extension  of  the  franchise.  He 
votes  with  Mr.  Plinisoll  for  legislation  to  procure  the  pro- 
tection of  seamen,  with  Mundella,  Macdonald,  Morlcy, 
Burt,  Cowen,  and  others  in  matters  of  labor  legislation, 
with  Prof.  Fawcett  on  matters  of  education,  pauperism, 
woman's  suffrage  and  measures  of  a  social,  economical 
character,  while  on  general  politics  he  follows  the  lead  of 
Mr.  Gladstone.  Though  he  is  one  of  a  class,  small  but  in- 
creasing, who  "  sit  below  the  gangway  "  of  the  House,  and 
are  counted  as  "  Independents,"  a  cordial  and  sincere 
support  was  given  by  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson  to  Mr.  Gladstone 
when  in  power,  and  to  the  party  when  in  opposition. 
In  the  country,  before  the  masses,  the  temperance  baronet 
steadily  gains  in  general  influence  and  personal  popularity. 

Sir  Wilfred  Lawson's  last  conspicuous  appearance  in 
Parliament  was  during  the  debate  on  the  proposed  visit  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales  to  India,  and  his  speech  was  thus 
described  by  the  vivacious  Lander,  coiTcspondent  of  the 
Louisville  (Ky.)  Courier- journal,  for  August  9,  1875  : 

"  Later,  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson,  celebrated  as  the  origina- 
tor and  staunch  supporter  of  the  permissive  liquor  bill 
made  the  telling  speech  of  the  evening.  He  took  excep- 
tion to  Mr.  Macdonald's  statement — Mr.  Macdonald  being 
ostensibly  a  w^orkingman's  representative — that  the  work- 
ingmen  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  this  question : 
'  Why  the  House  of  Commons  has  reduced  itself  to  such  a 
position  that  very  few  people  take  any  interest  in  their  pro- 
ceeding's.'    At  this  sallv  the  House   roared.     Sir  Wilfred 


22  2  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

would  have  been  glad  to  hear  that  the  Prince  was  going  to 
make  a  private  visit  to  India.  He  was  one  who  commisera- 
ted and  sympathized  with  princes.  They  really  deserved 
sympathy  ;  for  they  were  barred  from  public  life,  and  if  they 
went  into  the  army,  it  was  said  their  promotion  was  the  re- 
sult of  favoritism.  Altogether  they  had  hard  lines,  for  all 
they  were  permitted  to  do  was  to  provide  vapid  amusements 
for  stupid  people.  They  could  not  go  out  of  doors  with- 
out being  stared  at  by  mobs,  while  next  day  the  penny-a- 
liners  devoted  columns  to  their  movements.  He  did  not 
wonder  at  the  Prince  getting  very  tired  of  all  that  sort  of 
thing — tired  of  laying  foundation  stones,  opening  institu- 
tions, uncovering  statues,  and  eating  charity  dinners.  If 
the  Prime  Minister  had  proposed  it  on  the  ground  that  the 
Prince  wanted  pastime,  Sir  Wilfred  would  have  had  great 
difficulty  in  opposing  him  ;  but  he  said  that  the  travelling 
was  to  educate  the  Prince,  and  a  friend  of  his  on  the  Op- 
position Bench  connected  with  India  told  Sir  Wilfred  that 
it  was  desirable  that  the  future  ruler  of  India  should  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  subjects  he  would  have  to  gov- 
ern. This  Sir  Wilfred  disputed  altogether,  for  the  whole 
constitutional  doctrine  of  England  is  that  the  king  reigns, 
but  does  not  govern.  If  this  was  to  be  an  educational 
mission  to  teach  some  one  to  govern  India,  why  not  send 
the  Prime  Minister  ?  The  Prime  Minister  has  stated  that 
the  Prince  of  Wales  ought  to  be  placed  on  his  travels  in  a 
position  that  would  impress  India  with  the  dignity  and 
station  he  occupied,  but  the  sum  of  ;^i  40,000  would  ena- 
ble them  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort.  Why,  all  the  great 
Mogul  people  w'ould  beat  him  quite  hollow.  He  could  not 
compete  with  them  in  magnificence  and  pomp,  and,  if  they 


SIR    WILFRED    LAWSON.  223 

outdid  him,  more  harm  than  good  would  be  done.  England 
got  possession  of  India  by  an  admixture  of  force  and 
fraud,  and  now  holds  it  by  force.  She  can  only  continue 
to  hold  it  by  fair  and  honest  dealing,  and  not  by  indulging 
in  costly  shams.  *  Hear  !  hear  ! '  and  unlimited  '  oh's 
and  laughter  greeted  Sir  Wilfred  Lawson's  effective,  witty 
speech,  of  which  I  have  given  a  meagre  skeleton.  When 
he  clapped  the  climax  by  saying  that  if  there  was  the  shadow 
of  a  shade  of  dissatisfaction  with  monarchy,  it  was  pro- 
voked by  such  votes  as  this,  there  were  cries  of  '  Divide,' 
which,  however,  passed  unheeded." 


XIV. 

Edward  Miall. 


HE  power  of  agitation  has  received,  in  the  h'fe 
of  the  ex-member  for  Bradford — the  Editor  of 
^  the  Nonconformist  and  the  animating  spirit 
and  organizer  of  the  "Liberation  Society" — one  of  its 
most  conspicuous  examples.  Studying  the  history  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Great  Britain,  and  observing  how 
closely  it  is  interlinked  with  every  governing  interest ;  how 
it  is  interwoven  with  the  crown  and  its  dignity;  with 
the  landed  and  hereditary  aristocracy  and  its  supremacy ; 
with  the  history  and  splendors  and  policy  of  every  phase 
of  English  life  since  the  Eighth  Henry  made  it  a  political 
body  and  dependent  on  the  State,  it  is  difficult  now  to  real- 
ize how  near  that  great  establishment  is  to  its  downfall. 
When  this  is  once  comprehended,  it  is  easy  also  to  see  that 
like  that  of  the  blind  Sampson  in  the  temple,  its  destruc- 
tion will  be  followed  by  that  of  other  long  cherished  insti- 
tutions. But  what  is  not  so  easy  of  comprehension  is  to 
recognize  how  much  of  this  swiftly  approaching  result  is  due 
to  tiie  energetic  spirit  of  one   man — Edward  Miall — who 


EDWARD    MI  ALL.  225 

has  literally  spent  himself  in  the  work  of  preparation. 
For  several  years  he  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  as 
member  for  Bradford,  Yorkshire,  the  principal  centre  of 
English  woollen  manufactures.  Ill  health  prevented  Mr. 
Miall  from  becoming  a  candidate  at  the  last  genera! 
election,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  he  will  ever  again  en- 
deavor to  secure  a  seat.  Yet,  he  remains  a  distinct  and 
positive  force,  to  be  counted  upon  in  the  sum  of  English 
Radical  efforts.  The  author  of  "Men  and  Manner  in 
Parliament,"  speaking  of  those  who  have  "  Fallen  from  the 
Ranks,"  writes  that  "  Mr.  Miall  is  missed,  though  not  for 
the  sake  of  his  charms  of  oratory.  To  tell  the  truth, 
there  were  few  speakers  in  the  House  more  painful  to  listen 
to.  His  style  was  of  the  worst  order  of  Dissenting  preach- 
ing, and  there  was  a  specially  painful  vigor  in  the  way  he 
was  wont  to  wrestle  with  himself  for  words — pumping  them 
out  one  by  one  as  if  they  came  from  a  well  in  which  the 
gearing  had  got  out  of  order — that  could  not  be  excelled 
by  any  young  student  fresh  to  the  conventicle  from  college, 
and  desirous  of  impressing  critical  deacons  with  the 
amount  of  wisdom  which  must  underlie  utterances  so 
weightily  deliberate.  It  is,  however,  probable  that^this 
mannerism,  which  had  of  late  years  grown  upon  him,  was 
the  outcome  of  that  failing  health  and  strength  which 
finally  resulted  in  his  retirement  from  public  life ;  and  it 
speaks  eloquently  for  Mr.  Miall's  force  of  character  that  in 
spite  of  such  personal  disadvantages,  and  though  known 
as  the  uncompromising  advocate  of  principles  pecuHrtih 
obnoxious  to  the  majority  of  his  fellow-members,  he  al- 
ways compelled  the  respectful  attention  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  carried  into  his  retirement  the  assurance 
10*  15 


2  26  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

that  his  absence  would  be  regretted   and   his  place  not 
easily  filled."  * 

While  this  critic  has  overdrawn  the  disadvantages  of 
Mr.  Miall's  method  and  manner  as  a  speaker,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  he  is  not  gifted  in  that  direction.  The  matter 
is  more  imposing  than  the  manner,  and  his  speeches  are 
capital  "  campaign  "  documents,  bristling  as  they  do  with 
facts,  well  presented,  and  clothed  in  that  nervous  and  vig- 
orous English  of  which  Mr.  Miall  is  a  master.  As  a  con- 
troversial writer  the  editor  of  the  Nonconfor?nist  is  among 
the  most  influential  and  trenchant.  A  fair  specimen  of 
his  nervous  style  may  be  found  in  the  following  extracts 
from  a  critical  paragraph  in  relation  to  the  Hon.  W.  E. 
Forster,  written  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement 
from  the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party.  The  article  has 
significance  in  that  it  outlines  Mr.  Miall's  views,  and  enters 
an  objection  to  Mr.  Forster's  leadership,  growing  out  of 
the  famous  debate  on  the  Education  Act  of  1872,  herein 
alluded  to. 

"  Mr.  Forster's  qualifications  for  leading  the  Liberal  party  in  or- 
dinary times  are  pre-eminent.  He  is  a  rugged  sj>eaker ;  but  he  can 
generally  speak,  and  forcibly  too,  to  the  point.  His  industry  is  indom- 
itable. His  political  knowledge  is  extensive,  and,  within  certain  limits, 
varied.  His  political  sympathies  incline  more  steadily  towards  demo- 
cratic views  than  towards  those  which  terminate  in  oligarchical  rule. 
He  is  a  favorite  in  the  House,  but  more  so  among  those  who  sit  oppo- 
site to  him  than  among  those  who  sit  behind  him.  He  is  candid, 
flexible,  and  courteous  to  his  foes — less  so,  even  in  his  Parliamentary 
speeches,  to  his  friends.  What  he  may  be  in  the  lobbies  to  the  for- 
mer, we  do  not  know.  What  he  is  to  the  latter,  we  cannot  profess  to 
admire  ;  he  is  not  conciliatory,  he  is  not  attractive  ;  he  has  no  healing  01 
binding  influence.     *    *    *     He  would  probably  fi*^ly  and  fully  ex- 

*  "  Men  and  Manner  in  Parliament,"  p.  33. 


EDWARD    MI  ALL.  2  27 

press  the  wishes  of  the  party  in  relation  to  topics  within  a  purely 
secular  range.  His  views  (unless  we  have  mistaken  them)  arc  char- 
acterized by  breadth,  generosity,  faith,  and  courage.  But  opinion— 
and,  we  may  add.  Parliamentary  opinion — is  approaching  another  and 
a  much  higher  class  of  questions.  Not  even  Mr.  Forster  can  long 
postpone  a  consideration  of  ecclesiastical  policy.  How  is  he  disposed 
to  deal  with  that  huge  and  richly  endowed  monopoly  which,  while  its 
very  existence  overrides  every  sentiment  of  justice,  is  rapidly  tending 
in  practice  to  give  enormous  development  to  sacerdotal  assumptions  ? 
We  do  not  ask  his  opinion  of  disestablishment.  *  *  *  But  in 
what  direction  will  Mr.  Forster  be  likely  to  lead  the  House  ?  *  *  * 
We  believe  he  has  very  little  spiritual  sentiment — for  he  has  avowed  as 
much— and  that  his  ecclesiastical  outlook,  if  he  has  ever  distinctly 
shaped  it  to  his  own  mind,  is  predominantly  Erastian,  and  would  ulti- 
mately rest  upon  '  concurrent  endowment.'  Now,  men  deeply  inter- 
ested in  freeing  religious  institutions  from  State  support  and  control, 
can  take  no  active  part  in  committing  the  leadership  of  the  Liberals 
to  a  statesman  so  completely  at  variance  with  themselves  upon  what 
they  regard  as  the  most  important  political  problem  of  the  present  age. 
They  have  no  choice  but  to  refuse  binding  themselves  to  an  allegiance 
they  could  not  conscientiously  render." 

Mr.  Miall  is  the  leader  of  those  in  England  who  accept 
the  voluntary  method,  who  desire  the  entire  disseverance  of 
the  State  from  all  religious  bodies,  believing  that  under  such 
conditions  only  can  the  broadest  religious  activity  and 
progress  prevail.  They  hold  the  same  view  with  regard  to 
the  public  schools,  seeking  the  entire  separation  of  alt 
denominational  influence  from  the  elementary  training, 
which  they  desire  shall  be  had  at  the  public  expense. 

The  struggle  by  which  Mr.  Miall  and  his  friends  are 
able  to  look  from  their  Mount  Pisgah,  and  into  what  they 
deem  the  Promised  Land,  is  full  of  interest  to  the  his- 
torical student.  The  statute  books  are  not  entirely  free 
from   provisions    requiring    and    compelling  the  Christian 


228  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Dissenter  to   pay  rates  for   the  purpose   of  sustaining  the 
Established  Church  and  its  priests.     Not  many  years  have 
elapsed  since  Lord  Mansfield  delivered  a  famous  opinion 
by  which  he  declared  "  that  non-conformity  being  no  long- 
er a  crime,  the  natural  liberty  of  the  Subject  was  in  favor 
of  the   Dissenter."     The  passage  of  the  Toleration  Act, 
he  said,  "  renders  that  which  was  illegal  before,  now  legal ; 
the  Dissenters'  way  of  worship  is  permitted  and   allowed 
by  this  Act  ;  it  is  not  only  exempted  from   punishment, 
but  rendered  innocent   and   lawful ;  it  is  established,  it  is 
put   under  the  protection,    and  is  not  merely  under   the 
connivance   of    the    law."      Disabilities   remained.      The 
Dissenters'  inability  to   take   the   form   of    oath   required, 
prevented  them  from  holding  office,  or,  for  a  time,  of  sitting 
in  Parliament,  and  until  within  a  few  years  from  being  edu- 
cated  in    the    State  Universities.       During  the  last  fifty 
years  or  so,  the  more  public  spirited  among  them,  especially 
the  Quakers,  maintained  a  passive  resistance  to  the  collec- 
tions of  tithes,  church  rates,  and  Easter  dues,  just  as  at  the 
present  time  they  oppose   the  payment  of  rates  and  fees 
for  school  purposes,  which  are,  it  is  charged,  practically 
made  denominational  in  character.    In  the  old  agitation,  the 
more  determined  allowed   their  goods    to   be   distrained 
rather  than  voluntarily  pay  such  taxes.     It  became  an  un- 
derstood policy  at  the  sale  of  such  distrained  goods,  not 
to  bid  against  the  owner,  and  so  the  "  church  "  got  in  gene- 
ral more  scorn  than  profit.     So  odious  became  these  seiz- 
ures, that  Parliament  slowly  and  at  long  intervals,  passed 
acts  compromising  the  rates  in  some  way,  and  in  a  few  in- 
stances abolished  them  altogether. 

The  more  recent   and   directly  national  and  political 


EDWARD    MIALL.  229 

bearings  of  the  issues  relative  to  "  Churcli  and  State," 
have,  however,  gathered  around  the  active  public  life  of 
Edward  Miall.  What  some  of  these  are  in  a  more  directly 
social  and  personal  way,  is  stated  by  the  British  Quarterly 
in  an  article  reviewing  a  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
It  refers  to  Sir  Roundell  Palmer's  defensive  reply  that  the 
"  Establishment  no  longer  inflicts  wrong  on  those  who 
think  it  right  to  dissent ;  "  and  says  :  "  Whatever  may  be 
the  case  in  the  great  centres  of  population,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  in  the  small  towns,  and  especially  in  the  rural 
districts,"  where  it  is  asserted  the  Church  is  a  great  bless- 
ing, "  petty  persecution,  aiming  at  the  suppression  of  dis- 
sent, is  as  rife  as  when  the  Establishment  would  persecute 
by  law.  Is  the  dissenter  a  farmer?  He  is  kept  by  church 
landlords  and  landladies  out  of  a  whole  district,  as  care- 
fully as  the  rinderpest  itself.  *  *  Is  he  a  shop-keeper  } 
He  must  hold  his  head  low,  and  consent  to  sell  his  princi- 
ples with  his  wares,  or  he  loses  half  his  custom.  *  *  * 
Is  he  poor?  So  much  the  worse  for  him,  when  coal,  blank- 
ets and  soap  are  distributed  at  Christmas;  when  paro- 
chial charities,  intended  to  be  unsectarian,  are  dispensed, 
or  when  misfortune  makes  him  a  fitting  object  for  the  help 
and  sympathy  of  all  his  neighbors."  "  Nay,"  continues 
the  reviewer,  "he  may  be  wholly  independent"  of  all  pe- 
cuniary considerations,  equal  in  fortune,  culture,  grace,  re- 
finement to  the  more  fortunate,  but  he  also  "  pays  the 
penalty  for  conscientious  non-conformity  in  the  social  ex- 
clusion and  the  haughty  contempt  "  which  makes  English 
country  life  so  hard  to  bear.* 

*  "  Mr.  Miall's  motion  for  Disestablishment,"  British  Quarterly  Re' 
view,  July,  1871,  p.  183. 


230  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

The  editor  of  the  Nonconformist  is  a  son  of  Moses 
and  Sarah  Miall,  of  Portsmouth,  and  was  born  in  1809. 
He  is  therefore  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  Belong- 
ing to  a  family  prominently  identified  with  the  congregation- 
al body,  Edward,  with  two  of  his  brothers,  was  educated 
for  the  ministry,  at  Wymondley,  Hertfordshire,  in  a  theo- 
logical institution  founded  by  a  Mr.  Coward,  and  in  after 
years  consolidated  with  the  new  College,  St.  John's  Wood, 
London.  After  his  ordination  he  was  called  to  Leicester, 
as  the  pastor  of  an  Independent  Chapel  there.  His  in- 
duction into  the  ministry  was  at  a  time  when  England  fer- 
mented with  the  Reform  Law  and  Emancipation  agitations, 
and  there  naturally  grew  up  a  searching  consideration  of 
the  relations  of  "  Church  and  State,"  with  the  connections 
between  "  civil  and  religious  liberty,"  which  latter  was 
then  the  shibboleth  of  the  Whig  party.  From  the  ranks  of 
the  non-conforming  sects  in  England  has  often  come  the 
impulse  and  movement  which  has  led  to  great  reforms. 
Divisions  in  their  own  midst,  during  the  earliest  years  of 
Mr.  Miall's  ministerial  life,  as  to  the  limits  of  agitation, 
and  how  they  should  allow  themselves  to  participate 
therein,  led  him  to  a  careful  consideration  of  these  ques- 
tions. The  country  Dissenters  considered  themselves  in 
advance  of  those  who  lived  in  tlie  metropolis  and  larger 
cities.  Doubtless  they  were,  for  it  is  easy  to  understand 
that  disabilities,  legal  and  social,  would  be  more  percepti- 
bly annoying  in  localities  where  the  "peer,"  "squire,"  and 
"  rector  "  held  almost  undisputed  sway.  In  the  cities, 
clergymen  and  their  principal  laity  constituted  a  society 
sufficiently  large  and  cultured  enough  to  relieve  themselves 
from  personal  annoyance.     Under  the  impulse  given  by 


EDWARD    MIALL.  23  I 

the  Reform  Bill  of  1837,  the  provincial  Dissenters  felt 
that  they  must  organize.  Several  associations  were  in  op- 
eration at  this  time, — one,  the  "  Ecclesiastical  Knowledge 
Society^"  undertaking  the  task  of  publishing  all  matter  re- 
lating to  legal  disabilities  and  church  oppressions.  Another 
was  known  as  "the  Religious  Freedom  Society."  Neither 
of  these  efforts  was  other  than  tentative  in  character,  and 
they  were  aimed  solely  or  principally  at  the  redress  of 
"  practical  grievances,"  such  as  a  church-rate  seizure,  or 
any  personal  or  social  wrong-doing  on  the  part  of  their 
politico-ecclesiastical  opponents. 

It  was  this  want  of  broad  and  logical  basis  and  pur- 
pose to  their  movements  that  brought  Edward  Miall  to 
the  front,  and  created  the  Noncoiifonnist  newspaper,  and 
the  ''  Society  for  the  Liberation  of  Religion  from  State 
patronage  and  control."  Its  original  designation  was  that 
of  "The  British  Anti-State-Church  Association."  This 
was  found  cumbersome  and  inexpressive— for  it  by  no 
means  embodied  the  principles  on  which  the  movement 
was  founded.  There  were  and  are  many  advocates  of 
"  concurrent  endowment "  by  the  State  of  all  religious 
worship,  while  Mr.  Miall  and  his  associates  desire  entire 
freedom  from  State  aid  or  political  control.  The  move- 
ment originated  in  the  Midland  and  manufacturing  coun- 
ties, and  seems  to  have  created  some  surprise  elsewhere. 
The  direction  of  this  effort  centered  at  Leicester,  and 
through  Mr.  Miall  was  not  there  pre-eminent,  it  owed  much 
of  its  early  activity  to  his  energy  and  zeal.  It  was  de- 
termined to  publish  an  organ,  under  the  name  it  now 
bears — the  Nonconformist.  A  writer  in  the  Beehive,  sketch- 
ing the  life  of  its  editor,  says  : — 


-o~ 


BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 


"  The  prominence  subsequently  given  to  the  name,  per- 
son, and  labors  of  Mr.  Miall  in  the  matter,  was,  as  some 
would  have  regarded  it,  a  thing  of  the  merest  fortuity  ;  but 
others  are  inclined,  no  doubt,  to  take  a  very  different  view. 
We  believe  we  are  but  stating  the  simple  fact  when  we  re- 
late that  he  and  his  friend,  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Mursell,  came 
to  town  at  the  request  of  others  to  engage  as  the  editor  of 
the  projected  journal  a  gentleman  of  undoubted  sympathy 
in  their  opinion  and  object,  as  well  as  of  the  highest  emi- 
nence and  of  ti"ied  experience  as  a  public  writer.  In  this 
errand  they  did  not  succeed.  As  they  returned,  they  were 
pacing  together  the  railway  platform  at  Rugby  waiting  for 
the  Leicester  train.  Suddenly,  as  the  circumstance  is  told, 
Mr.  Mursell  said  to  his  companion,  "  you  must  do  it  your- 
self." The  answer  of  Mr.  Miall  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
idea  was  altogether  new  to  him  ;  and  it  was  easy  to  con- 
ceive much  of  what  would  immediately  come  to  the  lips  of 
a  man  committed  to  the  Christian  ministry,  settled  to  his 
mind  as  pastor  of  a  ehurch,  and  with  a  rising  family  to  be 
considered  in  any  new  movement  he  might  be  solicited  to 
make.  However,  Mr.  Mursell  pressed  his  suggestion  in  a 
form  sufficiently  impressive  to  obtain  from  his  friend  a 
promise  that  he  would  not  then  put  a  final  negative  upon 
it,  but  would,  before  answering  yes  or  no,  give  it  that  deep 
and  serious  consideration  which  such  a  proposal  so  urged 
demanded  at  his  hands." 

Having  undertaken  the  work,  he  left  his  active  minis- 
terial labors,  and  has  ever  since  devoted  himself  to  the 
work  he  has  since  performed.  How  great  the  task,  can  only 
be  fully  understood  by  a  thorough  apprehension  of  the  con- 
ditions by  which  it  has  been  surrounded.    The  Established 


EDWARD    MIALL.  233 

Churcli  and  its  patronage  has  been,  with  remarkable  saga- 
city, interwoven  into  every  part  of  the  political  and  social 
conditions  that  have  governed  England  since  ihe  Reforma- 
tion. It  is  enormously  wealthy,  its  annual  income  being 
\ariously  estimated  at  from  sixty  to  ninety  million  dollars. 
The  Episcopate  is,  politically  speaking,  an  important  por- 
tion of  the  system ;  the  two  Archbishops  and  twenty-seven 
Bishops  being  practically  appointed  by  the  Crown.  Nom- 
inally, they  are  elected  by  the  diocesan  clergy,  but  that  is 
only  a  form,  as  the  Queen  sends  lo  the  Synod  a  letter  or 
conge  (Velire^  naming  the  person  selected.  They  are  only 
required  to  ratify  the  nomination,  and  have  not  power  to 
reject.  There  are  13,261  benefices  m  the  Church,  all  of 
which  are  the  subject  of  public  or  personal  patronage. 
The  congregations  or  communicants,  as  such,  have  no 
power  of  selection  or  right  of  choice,  and  the  vestry  is  en- 
trusted only  with  civil  functions  ;  care  of  buildings,  collec- 
tion of  rates  and  tithes,  etc.,  as  also  certain  powers  over 
the  parish  in  the  way  of  assessing  and  disbursing  money, 
providing  for  the  poor,  schools,  etc.  These  latter  func- 
tions have  been  curtailed  of  late  years.  The  "  rector,"  or 
"  incumbent,"  becomes  thereby  possessed  of  certain  privi- 
leges, landed  and  magisterial  in  many  instances.  The 
Crown  holds  a  number  of  livings  at  its  bestowal  ;  there 
are  4,521  in  the  gift  of  members  of  the  House  of  Lords. 
The  Bishops  sit  therein  as  "  Peers  Spiritual."  Catholic 
patrons  are  required  to  transfer  the  gift  of  their  livings  to 
the  Crown.  A  considerable  number,  nearly  as  many  in 
fact  as  are  in  the  gift  of  the  Peers,  are  at  the  disposal  of 
private  gentlemen  and  ladies.  The  Universities  and  other 
institutions  are  also  largely  possessed  of  this  patronage. 


2  34  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

It  was  no  wonder  then  that  VVarburton  should  declare  that 
the  Church  "has  been  of  old  the  cradle  and  the  throne  of 
the  younger  nobility,"  or  that  Goldwin  Smith  speaks  of  it 
as  "  a  mere  bulwark  of  the  oligarchy."  Mr.  Gladstone 
himself  sounded  the  key-note  to  its  downfall  when  he 
declared,  in  1836,  speaking  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
that — "A  Church  establishment  is  maintained  for  the 
sake  of  its  doctrines,  not  of  its  members — they  have  no 
right  whatever  to  an  advantage  over  other  subjects  of  the 
State."  The  eloquent  churchman  was  defending  the 
establishment,  while  in  truth  he  gave  the  key-note  for  its 
assailants.  The  diversity  of  doctrines  it  shelters  produces 
sub-divisions,  almost  as  numerous  as  the  articles  of  faith 
on  which  it  is  presumed  to  be  founded.  As  the  Dean  of 
Canterbury  acknowledges  in  a  notable  review  of  some 
"Nonconformist  essays,"* — "The  first  step  for  an  Anglican 
apologist  must  ever  be  the  abandonment  of  logic.  *  * 
Any  one  of  his  arguments,  which  begin  so  fairly,  will,  if 
carried  out,  land  him  either  in  Rome  or  Geneva."  He  adds, 
however,  that  this  is  not  to  be  regarded  "  as  fatal  to  his 
position."  It  shares  in  that  "the  predicament  with  every- 
thing else  that  is  English.  There  is  not  an  institution 
in  our  realm  that  is  logically  defensible," — and  he  adds, 
with  characteristic  English  pride,  that  every  such  institu- 
tion is  now,  or  is  in  the  course  of  being  made,  "the  best 
that  can  be  had  under  the  circumstances." 

This,  then,  is  the  institution  Edward  Miall  undertook  to 

destroy.      He   has  seen  its  kindred  organization  go  down 

in  Ireland,  and  now  hears  his  Liberal  associates  pleading 

for  time  to  prepare  for  a  disendowment  as  well  as  dises- 

*  The  ContemJ:orary  Revieiv,  August,  1870. 


EDWARD    MIALL.  235 

tablishment  of  this  powerful  and  wealthy  institution.  A 
great  many  forces  help  just  now  to  bring  the  ripening 
issue  to  a  head.  Ritualism  within,  dissent  without,  but 
nK)re  than  either,  the  spirit  of  secular  and  scientific  inquiry 
and  activity,  which  instinctively  rebels  against  sacerdotal 
assumptions, — these  all  tend  to  but  one  result.  Averyinflu- 
ential  element  at  this  time  is  the  revolt  of  the  agricultural 
laborers  against  the  degraded  poverty  and  condition  in  which 
they  have  heretofore  been  sunk.  Out  of  the  eleven  or  twelve 
millions  claimed  as  communicants  of  the  establishment, 
the  farni  laborers  have  always  formed  a  large  proportion. 
But  more  and  more  the  lowlier  and  less  prosperous  sects 
have  obtained  a  commanding  control  of  this  class,  until 
now,  under  the  leadership  of  such  teachers  as  Joseph  Arch, 
William  Ball  and  others,  usually  local  preachers  or  ex- 
horters  themselves,  they  are  in  the  full  tide  of  vigorous 
agitation.  Men  like  Mr.  Miall  have  with  tongue  and  pen 
prepared  the  way,  and  are  now  skilfully  binding  up  their 
sheaves  and  gathering  the  harvests.  In  the  movement  just 
alluded  to,  the  established  clergy  have  unwisely  arrayed 
themselves,  as  a  rule,  against  the  people.  This  mistaken 
policy  is  political  suicide,  as  it  has  aroused  other  classes  to 
a  logical  apprehension  of  the  intimate  sympathies  that 
naturally  result  between  State  ecclesiasticism  and  the 
English  landed  oligarchy. 

Mr.  Miall  is  a  man  of  stoutish  form,  about  the  middle 
height,  with  dark  hair,  eyes  and  complexion,  wears  a  full 
beard,  and  peers  out  with  a  keen  but  kindly  look  from 
behind  his  spectacles.  He  is  a  man  very  much  esteemed 
for  his  social  and  personal  qualities,  as  well  as  admired 
for  his  intellectual  capacity  and  activity.       Though  he  is  a 


236  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

voluminous  writer,  only  a  few  volumes  of  controversial  mat- 
ter or  of  observations  and  descriptions  made  -on  journeys 
taken  for  his  health,  constitute  his  published  works  outside 
the  columns  of  the  Noticoiiformist. 

Mr.  Miall  was  first  chosen  for  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1855,  and  again,  ten  years  later,  as  member  for 
Bradford.  His  name  had  meanwhile  several  times  been 
presented  as  a  candidate,  but  without  success.  In  Parlia- 
ment, his  general  course  has  been  that  of  an  advanced 
Liberal.  During  the  American  civil  war,  Mr.  Miall  and 
his  paper  were  warm  advocates  of  the  Union  cause.  He 
has  favored  the  increase  of  the  franchise,  vote  by  ballot, 
ameliorative  and  corrective  laws  for  labor ;  sustains  the 
demand  for  a  redistribution  of  seats  and  the  extension  of 
the  franchise  to  the  counties,  as  well  as  the  abolition  of 
the  rate  paying  qualifications.  In  the  debates  on  public 
education  Mr.  Miall  has  been  the  leading  opponent  of  all 
denominational  control.  The  measure  passed  in  1872, 
under  the  management  of  the  Hon.  W.  E.  Forster,  then 
Vice-President  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  Chairman  of  its 
Committee  on  Education,  was  bitterly  opposed  by  Mr. 
Miall,  who  regarded  certain  clauses  as  strengthening 
Church  or  denominational  control  over  the  schools.  The 
ministry  were  denounced  as  having  led  those  he  represented 
"  through  the  Valley  of  Humiliation,"  and  were  warned 
that  the  effect  would  be  felt  at  the  polls.  There  is  no 
doubt  too  that  the  dissatisfaction  thus  engendered  aided  in 
producing  that  reduction  in  the  Liberal  vote  which  enabled 
the  Conservatives  to  regain  power.  Mr.  Miall  obtained 
two  important  Royal  Commissions  of  Inquiry  during  his 
parliamentary  career,  one  relating  to   education,  and   the 


EDWARD    MIALL.  237 

Other  calling  for  ail  account  of  clerical  incomes  and  endow- 
ments. In  the  first  report  he  made  a  suggestion,  the 
adoption  of  which  marked  a  distinct  step  in  the  growth  of 
the  educational  system.  That  suggestion  was  to  the  effect 
that  all  grants  for  school  purposes  should  be  given  only 
for  improvements  in  the  secular  studies  laid  down  by  the 
"  Minutes  of  Council,"  and  over  which  inspection  was 
maintained. 

On  other  or  minor  political  matters  Mr.  Miall  followed 
the  leadership  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  at  least  up  to  the  time 
of  the  passage  of  the  Forster  Education  Act  in  1872,  when 
he  practically  took  a  position  of  entire  independence. 
But  it  is  of  course  on  his  advocacy  of  Disestablishment 
of  the  State  Church  that  his  reputation  must  rest.  In 
1856,  he  first  introduced  a  practical  proposition  for  the 
abolition  of  the  Irish  State  Church.  The  Liberal  party 
had  for  many  years  been  hostile  to  this  oppressive  institu- 
tion, but  there  was  a  wide  divergence  as  to  the  means  to 
be  adopted.  The  question  of  disestablishment  was  first 
broached  over  forty  years  ago,  by  a  motion  of  Mr.  Faith- 
full,  made  in  1833.  The  subject  was  so  unpopular  that 
Lord  Althorp  declined  to  reply  and  moved  the  previous 
question.  Mr.  Miall's  motion  and  speech,  the  latter  espe- 
cially, received  marked  attention.  Fourteen  years  later, 
(in  1868)  Mr.  Gladstone  declared  that  "  in  the  settlement 
of  the  Irish  Church,  that  Church,  as  a  State  Church,  must 
cease  to  exist."  Mr.  Miall  witnessed  that  triumph,  and  on 
the  9th  of  May,  187 1  rose  to  move  the  formal  Disestab- 
tishment  of  the  English  State  Church  itself.  It  is  evident 
that  he  will  not  have  to  wait  as  long  as  he  did  in  the  case 
of  its  confrere,  the  Irish  Episcopal  Establishment.      The 


238  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

British  Quarterly  Review,  the  organ  of  the  non-conformist 
party  in  politics  and  affairs,  says  of  the  debate  and  Mr. 
Miall's  speech  that  preceded  it,  "  a  large  house — -a.  speech 
which  the  most  competent  critics  in  England  have  pro- 
nounced to  be  of  the  highest  class — a  seven  hours  debate 
sustained,  for  the  most  part,  by  members  of  the  greatest 
mark — a  weakness  of  argument  and  of  tone  on  the  part 
of  the  opponents  of  the  motion  which  has  excited  general 
surprise — a  division  almost  exactly  tallying  with  the  calcu- 
lations of  those  at  whose  instance  it  was  taken — leading 
articles  and  correspondence  on  the  subject  in  every  jour- 
nal in  the  Kingdom,  and  an  almost  universal  impression 
that  disestablishment  is  nearer  at  hand  than  it  was  thought 
to  be  before  the  motion  was  submitted — if  these  do  not 
satisfy  the  most  ardent  of  "  Liberationists,"  the  patience 
which  has  hitherto  distinguished  them  must  have  given 
way  to  unreasoning  haste."  * 

Of  their  leader's  efforts  the  same  authority  says : 
"  If  Mr.  Miall  has  not  acquired  favor  as  a  Parliamentary 
debater,  he  has  made  two  speeches  which  will  live  in  the 
political  history  of  this  half  century."  Of  the  latest,  one 
of  his  supporters  "happily  said  that  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  it  were  the  condensation  of  the  thought  of  a  life- 
time ;  "  "  but  in  truth,"  continues  the  reviewer,  "  the  speak- 
er had  to  disengage  his  mind  from  many  thoughts  which 
had  for  years  engaged  the  highest  powers  of  his  intellect 
and  the  warmest  sympathies  of  his  heart.  He  had  to  re- 
member that  he  was  standing,  *  *  *  on  the  floor  of 
the  House  of   Commons,  and  that  he  was  addressing  not 

*  B7-ilish  Quarterly,  July,  1871,  p.  98. 


EDWARD    MIALL.  239 

the  eagerly  responsive  readers  of  the  Nonconformist,  but 
the  cold  and  critical  readers  of  journals  of  a  very  differ 
ent  t}'pe.  And  further,  while  avowing  that  the  religious 
side  of  the  question  was  that  which  most  powerfully  affected 
his  own  mind,  and  conscious  that  the  most  potent  forces  he 
could  employ  were  those  which  derived  their  force  from 
religious  considerations,  he  had  to  leave  that  'vantage 
ground,  from  the  admitted  unwillingness  of  the  House  of 
Commons  to  deal  with  the  subject  in  its  spiritual  aspects, 
and  to  take  the  lower  ground  involved  in  objections  of  an 
exclusively  political  and  social  character.  It  required  no 
small  degree  of  self-restraint,  and  of  practical  skill,  for  a 
speaker  of  such  antecedents  as  those  of  Mr.  Miall  to  keep 
strictly  within  the  lines  which  he  had  laid  down  for  himself, 
and  the  unstinted  admiration  expressed  by  all  the  subse- 
quent speakers,  and  especially  by  public  journals,  which 
*  *  *  were  little  likely  to  be  biassed  in  his  favor,  have 
shown  conclusively  the  completeness  of  his  success."* 

These  encomiums  are  sustained  by  the  later  praise  of 
a  non-partisan  writer  already  quoted.  They  are  echoed  by 
others.  The  writer  before  quoted  from  the  Beehive's  "  Por- 
trait Gallery"  closes  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Miall  by  a  reference  to 
adverse  criticism  that  was  made  in  his  own  denomination, 
upon  his  leaving  the  pulpit  for  the  editorial  chair,  and  by 
declaring  that  time  and  his  life  work  has  amply  justified 
the  decision,  adding  that  Mr.  Miall  has  lived  "  to  see 
others  besides  himself  doing  the  same  thing,  and  to  hear 
them  applauded  for  it.  In  fact  it  was  a  quondam  preacher 
in  the  pulpit  who  coined  and  gave  currency  to  the  phrase 

*  British  Quarterly,  p.  99. 


240  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  'priesthood  of  the  press.'  All  such  objections  have 
now  passed  away  ;  and  nearly  every  observer  can  perceive 
that  the  man  who  did  and  has  done  what  it  fell  to  Edward 
Miall's  lot  to  do,  required  the  ardent  devotion  of  a  Prophet, 
to  say  nothing  of  priesthood  of  any  kind,  to  help  him 
along  and  to  cany  him  through.  *  *  *  Whether  it 
will  fall  to  Mr.  Miall's  share  to  reap  the  harvest  for  which 
he  has  so  wisely  sown  and  so  well  toiled,  no  man  knows, 
as  none,  perhaps,  less  cares  than  he.  Let  some  men,  they 
may  not  be  many,  be  clear  that  they  have  done  what  they 
could,  and  they  are  content  to  leave  the  matter  of  reward 
in  the  unerring  hands  of  Him  who  only  knows  how  to  ap- 
portion it,  '  but  to  him  that  soweth  righteousness,  shall  be 
a  sure  reward.'  "* 

*  The  Beehive,  London,  Jan.  2,  1875. 


XV. 

Henry  Richard. 


IHAT  portion  of  the  Island  of  Great  Britain 
whicli  gives  a  title  to  the  Heir  Apparent  to  tKe 
British  Crown,  has  not  for  a  good  many  years 
been  remarkable  for  devotion  to  the  class  system  whereby 
the  English  Empire  has  been  governed.  The  Welsh  are,  in 
the  main,  a  working  people  ;  small  farmers,  delvers  in  the 
mines,  workers  at  the  forge  and  furnace ;  and  they  are  a 
race  with  verj'  marked  characteristics,  preserving  their  old 
traditions  and  literature  with  a  zeal  which  tias  in  itself 
proved  to  be  an  education.  These  traits  have  lent  to  their 
politics  a  good  deal  of  intensity.  The  earlier  chartist  agi- 
tation found  formidable  materials  among  them  for  stormy 
demands.  One  movement,  known  as  the  Daughters  of 
Rebecca,  originating  in  an  organized  opposition  to  turn- 
pike tolls,  which  had  become  a  grievous  monopoly  in  the 
principality,  became  in  the  southern  portion  a  serious 
political  insurrection,  at  one  time  presenting  a  formidable 
II  i6 


242  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

aspect,  and  requiring  a  considerable  force  for  its  suppres- 
sion. Ordinarily,  however,  the  Welsh  are  a  quiet  and  very 
orderly  people.  The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch  is  a  representative  man — a  genuine  leader  of  the 
best  Welsh  elements, — and  is  beside,  a  man  worthy  of  large 
recognition  because  of  his  worthy  aims  and  character.  He 
may  be  said  to  be  not  merely  a  member  for  the  coal-mining 
and  iron-forging  constituency  who  have  sent  him  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  but  to  be  in  fact  a  member  for  all 
Wales. 

Henry  Richard  was  born  in  1812,  at  Tregaran  in  Cardi- 
ganshire, and  is  the  son  of  Rev.  Ebenezer  Richard,  a  minis- 
ter of  the  Calvinistic  Methodist  persuasion.  His  mother 
was  Mary  Williams,  and  both  parents  were  of  unmixed 
Welsh  descent.  The  father,  indeed,  represented  one  of 
the  oldest  landed  parishes  in  the  region,  and  the  son  was 
carefully  educated  and  became  especially  versed  in  all  that 
related  to  the  Principality  itself.  He  had  occasion  to 
mingle  much  with  the  working  people,  and  thereby  ac- 
quired a  wide  knowledge  of  the  great  trades'  union  move- 
ments, their  aims,  hopes,  and  spirit.  This  experience, 
joined  with  hearty  sympathy  have  secured  for  him  the  con- 
fidence of  the  constituency  he  represents,  and  have  given 
him  considerable  influence  in  the  House  of  Commons  on 
the  Labor  questions  which  have  formed  so  important  a 
part  of  English  Legislation. 

Mr.  Richard  married  in  1866  Augusta  Matilda  Farley. 
He  was  for  some  years  an  "  Independent "  minister  at 
Marlborough  Chapel,  Southwark,  London,  But  his  first 
public  reputation  was  won  as  an  advocate  of  popular  edu- 
cation, and   in   defending  his  own  people — the  Welsh — 


HENRY    RICHARD.  243 

from  what  he  regarded  as  false  reports  made  by  a  govern- 
ment commission  which  was  sent  in  1846,  to  enquire  into 
the  state  of  education  among  them.  Mr.  Richard  pre- 
pared and  delivered  an  elaborate  lecture,  afterwards  pub- 
lished in  book  form,  as  were  also  a  series  of  letters  print- 
ed later  in  the  London  Morning  Star,  —  in  both  of 
which  he  replied  and  refuted  the  adverse  criticisms.  The 
effect  of  these  publications  were  so  marked  that  Gladstone 
took  occasion  to  pay  a  tribute  to  Mr.  Richard  and  the 
ability  he  displayed,  when  he  addressed,  in  1873,  the  Na- 
tional Eisteddfod,  as  the  annual  Welsh  meetings  are 
termed,  which  of  late  years  have  done  so  much  to  revive 
an  interest  in  the  ancient  Welsh  lore — the  source  of  the 
Arthurian  legends.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  in  his  opening 
speech  : — 

"  I  will  frankly  own  to  you  that  I  have  shared,  at  a 
former  time,  and  before  I  had  acquainted  myself  with  the 
subject,  the  prejudices  which  prevail,  to  some  extent,  with 
respect  to  Wales,  and  I  come  here  to  tell  you  how  and  why 
I  have  changed  my  opinion.  It  is  only  fair  that  I  should 
say  that  a  countryman  of  yours,  a  most  excellent  Welsh- 
man, Mr.  Richard,  M.  P.,  did  a  great  deal  to  open  my  eyes 
to  the  true  state  of  the  facts  by  a  series  of  letters  which, 
some  years  ago,  he  addressed  to  a  morning  journal,  and 
which  he  subsequently  published  in  a  small  volume,  which 
I  recommend  to  all  persons  who  may  be  interested  in  the 
subject." 

The  title  of  this  volume  was  "  Social  and  Political 
Condition  of  the  Principality  of  Wales."  Mr.  Richard 
has  also  published  a  life  of  Joseph  Sturge,  and  an  essay 
on  "  The  Present  and   Future  of  India."     Th(;  work  to 


244  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

which  Mr.  Richard  has  more  especially  devoted  his  life 
has  been  the  advocacy  of  peace,  and  the  establishment  of 
international  arbitration  as  a  substitute  for  war.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  work,  he  has  travelled  extensively,  and  his 
face  is  one  well  known  in  all  the  chief  continental  cities. 
The  earlier  efforts  made  by  him  were  taken  in  conjunction 
with  Elihu  Burritt,  as  early  as  1846,  and  resulted  in  the 
convening  of  a  memorable  series  of  Peace  Congresses 
held  from  1848  to  1852,  at  Brussels,  Paris,  Frankfort, 
London,  Manchester  and  Edinburgh.  The  London  Con- 
gress in  1850  will  be  remembered  in  the  United  States 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  attended  by  a  number  of  the  most 
prominent  of  our  anti-slavery  advocates — Garrison,  Phil- 
lips, Tappan,  Lucretia  Mott  and  others — and  in  England 
by  the  interest  that  was  aroused  by  the  presence  and  elo- 
quence of  the  now  venerable  quaker  lady.  These  gather- 
ings gave  to  the  peace  movement  its  first  world-wide  rec- 
ognition. They  attracted  public  attention,  and  secured 
the  pacific  advocacy  of  Cobden,  Bright,  Lamartine,  Ara- 
go,  Humboldt,  Liebig,  Visschers,  Suringar,  Chevalier,  Co- 
querel.  Sir  David  Brewster,  Varrautrap,  Cormenin,  Victor 
Hugo,  Emile  de  Girardin,  Beckwith,  Gamier,  and  many 
others. 

The  Diplomatic  Congress  of  Paris,  in  1856,  at  which 
the  representatives  of  Great  Britain,  Russia,  France,  Sar- 
dinia and  Turkey  assembled  to  frame  and  ratify  the  treaty 
concluding  the  Crimean  war,  was  marked  by  notable  steps 
forward  in  the  movement  of  which  Mr.  Richard  is  a  fore- 
most champion.  At  that  time  that  gentleman,  accompanied 
by  Joseph  Sturge  and  Mr.  Hindley,  M.  P.,  proceeded  to 
Paris  and  obtained  interviews  with  the  Plenipotentiaries 


HENRY    RICHARD.  245 

there  assembled.  "The  views  of  Mr.  Richard  and  his 
friends  were  on  that  occasion  so  heartily  entered  into 
by  Lord  Clarendon  and  his  colleagues  at  the  Confer- 
ence, that  they,  in  consequence,  embodied  them  in  the  cel- 
ebrated Protocol  recommending  States  to  have  recourse, 
in  cases  of  disputes,  to  the  good  offices  of  friendly  Powers. 
Mr.  Gladstone  has  pronounced  this  high  sanction  of  pacific 
principles  to  be  '  in  itself  a  great  triumph.'  It  has  subse- 
quently been  repeatedly  acted  upon  by  various  countries, 
and  especially  by  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  in 
reference  to  the  Alabama  difficulty,  finally  settled  by  arbi- 
trators nominated  by  other  Powers."  * 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  unanimously  passed  during  the  session  of  1872-3  a 
resolution  favoring  the  principle  of  international  arbitra- 
tion. This  action  was  part  of  the  result  obtained  by  Mr. 
Richard  through  his  long-continued  agitation.  In  July, 
1872,  he  carried  a  similar  motion,  after  a  notable  speech 
on  his  part,  followed  by  a  vigorous  debate,  by  a  majority 
of  ten  on  a  total  vote  of  190,  the  number  of  members 
present.  Since  that  date,  besides  the  vote  in  the  Ameri- 
can Congress,  similar  motions  have  been  passed  by  the 
Legislative  assemblies  of  Italy,  Sweden  and  Belgium. 
The  latest  adherent  to  the  policy  is  Holland.  The  lead- 
ing advocate  of  arbitration  in  the  Netherlands  Parliament, 
thus  announced  his  success  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Richard : — 

The  Hague,  Nov.  27,  1874. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  satisfaction  to  iiiform  you  that  this  day, 
after  two  days  of  debate,  we  carried  our  motion  on  International  Arbi> 

*  The  Beehive,  March  13,  1875. 


246  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

tration  (of  which  we  gave  notice  on  the  12th  of  October),  by  a  major- 
ity of  35  against  30,  in  the  second  chamber  of  the  States  General  of 
the  Netherlands,  15  members  being  absent. 

It  appears  that  some  of  our  opponents  made  a  political  question 
of  it.  But  a  proposition  to  adjourn  the  discussion  until  a  later  day 
was  rejected  in  favor  of  my  counter-proposition  to  leave  our  motion 
to  its  own  inherent  merits,  without  any  further  defence  from  our  side 
and  to  close  all  further  discussion  and  vote  at  once.  This  proposal 
being  adopted,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  whilst  approving  the 
principle  of  our  motion,  disputed  its  opportuneness,  and  doubted  the 
advisability  of  a  small  country  like  ours  accepting  it  and  so  taking  an 
initiative  so  important.  After  his  speech,  the  debate  being  closed,  the 
motion  was  carried,  as  above  stateu. 

I  hope,  dear  sir,  that  although  this  success  may  not  be  a  brilliant 
one,  all  our  English  friends  of  kindred  mind  with  ours  will  rejoice  in 
it,  and  that  you,  dear  sir,  in  particular,  will  acknowledge  that  M.  Von 
Eeck  and  myself  have  redeemed  the  pledge  we  gave  you  during  your 
visit  to  this  country,  that  we  would  do  our  best  in  this  direction.  I 
remain,  dear  sir,  yours  most  truly, 

T.  P.  BREDINS, 

M.  P.  for  Dordrecht. 

This  movement  was  stimulated  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Richard  by  an  extended  Continental  journey,  undertaken 
shortly  after  his  success  in  the  British  Parliament  had  been 
achieved.  The  biographer  of  the  Beehive,  already  quoted, 
writes  that  Mr.  Richard  "  visited  Italy,  France,  Austria, 
Holland,  and  Belgium  to  secure  interviews  with  influential 
members  of  their  respective  Legislatures,  and  obtained  in 
various  instances,  promises  of  early  action,  of  which  the 
fulfilment  in  most  cases  has  already  proved  the  importance. 
During  this  journey  Mr.  Richard  was  welcomed  by  a  con- 
tinuous series  of  ovations  and  banquets  in  the  chief  Con- 
tinental cities.  Addresses  of  congratulation  also  poured 
in  upon  him   from    all    quarters.      One   from    Italy  was 


HENRY    RICHARD.  -247 

signed  by  almost  all  the  eminent  men  in  that  country,  in- 
cluding General  Garibaldi,  the  Presidents  of  the  Senate 
and  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  Signor  Lanza,  the  ex- 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  and  by  a  host  of 
other  leading  Italians.  But  one  of  the  most  acceptable  of 
these  addresses  was  that  from  the  working  men  of  Venice, 
in  which  they  testified  their  earnest  gratitude  to  him  for 
his  pacific  efforts,  inasmuch  as  it  is  mainly  upon  the  work- 
ing classes  in  every  nation  that  the  burdens  of  war  fall. 
They  furnish  the  '  food  for  cannon  ' ;  their  wives  and  widows 
and  orphans  suffer  most  grievously  from  war  ;  whilst  the 
titled  and  wealthy  classes  carry  off  the  honors  and  spoils, 
but  avoid  most  of  the  risks  and  privations.  This  represent- 
ative address  has  afforded  a  deep  and  peculiar  satisfaction 
to  Mr.  Richard.  For,  in  common  with  his  friends  and  as- 
sociates throughout  life,  such  as  Richard  Cobden,  John 
Bright  and  Joseph  Sturge,  it  has  been  his  sincerest  earthly 
ambition  to  render  solid  service  to  those  classes  of  his 
countrymen  who  most  need  such  help — the  great  and 
numerous  ranks  of  the  toiling  millions  who  constitute  such 
an  important  proportion  of  the  population,  that  efforts  for 
their  benefit  and  elevation  constitute  the  truest  form  of 
patriotism." 

Mr.  Richard  was  elected  for  the  Welsh  borough  of 
Merthyr,  in  November,  1868,  and  again  in  the  subsequent 
elections.  His  opponents  were  Lord  Aberdare  (formerly 
Mr.  Bruce,  Home  Secretary  under  the  Premiership  of  Mr. 
Gladstone),  and  a  Mr.  Fothergill  —  both  of  them  large 
land-owners  and  employers.  Mr.  Richard's  votes,  how- 
ever, were  nearly  double  those  polled  by  these  rivals.  The 
constituency  he  represents  is  emphatically  a  working  one  ; 


248  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

as  the  district  of  which  Merthyr  is  the  centre,  is  one  of  the 
heaviest  coal  and  iron-mining  and  working  portions  of 
Great  Britain.  It  has  been  within  three  years  the  seat  of 
two  great  labor  struggles,  the  first  being  a  strike  for  higher 
wages,  and  the  second  a  lock-out  on  the  part  of  employers, 
in  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  the  men  to  accept  a  re- 
duction. Over  one  hundred  thousand  men  and  boys  were 
thrown  out  of  employ  for  several  months,  the  employers 
having  raised  a  large  fund  and  formed  a  close  union  in 
order  to  accomplish  the  result  they  desired,  which  was  the 
breaking  up  of  the  Laborers'  Combination  by  the  process  of 
starvation.  The  miners  yielded,  but  yet  the  employers 
could  not  be  accounted  wholly  successful.  The  extent  of 
the  lock-out  was  brought  about  by  the  determination  to 
prevent  the  men  of  other  districts  from  supporting  the 
unionists  in  those  places  where  the  struggle  was  first  in- 
augurated. Practically  the  iron  workers  supported  the 
miners.  The  iron  masters  as  well  as  the  colliery-owners 
were  induced  to  strike  hands  and  close  all  the  works,  the 
employes  of  which,  though  in  everyway  innocent  except  as 
to  sympathy  with  the  men  originally  involved,  were  thus 
compelled  to  suffer  for  many  months.  Not  less  than  half 
a  million  persons  were  involved  in  the  matter,  and  the  dis- 
tress was  very  general.  The  Beehive,  which  is  the  recog- 
nized organ  of  the  British  Trades'  Unions,  wrote  of  Mr. 
Richard  while  the  lock-out  was  in  progress,  that  "  many 
anxious  days  and  weeks  have  been  devoted  by  him  to  en- 
deavour to  bring  about  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culties involved ;  and  although  his  circumstances,  as  un- 
connected with  the  iron  trade,  or  with  any  other  branch  of 
commerce,  have  placed  him  in  a  position  of  much  disad- 


HENRY    RICHARD.  249 

Vantage  and  delicacy,  when  pleading  with  the  masters  on 
behalf  of  their  men,  he  has  not  shrunk  from  repeated  at- 
tempts in  this  direction.  In  January,  1875,  the  Associa- 
ted Employers  of  South  Wales  issued  a  document  referring 
to  one  of  Mr.  Richard's  communications,  saying :  —  '  The 
Council  of  the  Association  of  Colliery  Owners  have  received 
and  taken  into  their  earnest  consideration,  a  letter  of  the 
25th  of  December,  written  by  Mr.  Henry  Richard,  M.  P., 
to  the  Chairman  of  the  association.'  The  masters  then 
explained  in  detail  their  reasons  for  arriving  nevertheless 
at  a  conclusion  adverse  to  Mr.  Richard's  wishes,  and  con- 
cluded by  stating  their  decision  :  —  '  No  Board  of  Concili- 
ation, no  method  of  arbitration,  can  either  remove  the  ex- 
isting distress,  or  qualify  the  necessity  for  a  reduction  of 
wages.'  Hence  the  responsibility  of  the  painful  events 
which  have  taken  place  was  entirely  assumed  by  the  em- 
ployers, whilst  Mr.  Richard  has  watched  and  seized  every 
opportunity  of  advocating  the  cause  of  his  distressed  con- 
stituents."  ■ 

Shortly  after  his  entrance  into  the  House  of  Commons, 
Mr.  Richard  made  a  speech  which  aroused  much  interest, 
exposing  the  political  intimidation  and  other  unlawful  acts 
practised  against  their  poorer  tenants  by  many  of  the 
Welsh  landlords.  It  had  the  effect  also,  of  checking  the 
abuses  whereof  he  complained.  During  the  debates 
on  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church,  and  on 
the  question  of  National  Education,  Mr.  Richard  took  bold 
and  radical  ground,  urging  the  abolition  of  the  Stale 
Church  in  England. 

The  British   Quarterly  Review*  in  an  article  on  Mr. 

*  July,  1871. 


250  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Miall's  motion  on  this  subject,  made  on  the  9th  of  May, 
187 1,  speaks  of  Mr.  Richard  as  supporting  the  motion  in 
in  a  speech  whose  "  facts  and  figures  *  *  admirably 
supplemented  Mr.  Miall's  exposition  of  principle;  while 
so  far  as  the  Principality  is  concerned,  they  demolished 
some  of  the  boldest  allegations  of  the  advocates  of  the 
existing  system."  It  refers  to  his  having  shown  that  Wales 
cannot  be  considered  as  part  of  the  territory  over  which 
the  establishment  has  shed  the  beneficiary  influences 
which  its  defenders  claimed  for  it  during  the  debate  under 
consideration," 

Mr.  Richard  has  also  urged  the  perfecting  of  a  complete 
system  of  National  and  compulsory  education.  He  is 
strongly  opposed  to  all  denominational  supervision  or  in- 
terference, and  resisted,  with  Mr.  Miall  and  his  friends, 
the  bill  of  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Forster,  passed  in  1S72,  which,  it 
was  charged,  extended  and  even  increased  that  influence. 
Mr.  Richard  made  for  himself  a  considerable  reputation 
and  influence,  on  the  liberal  benches,  by  bearding  Mr. 
Disraeli,  at  the  very  first  session,  at  which  the  Tory  leader 
resumed  power,  in  an  attempt  to  repeal  the  obnoxious  sec- 
tion of  the  last  Education  Act,  and  also  by  resisting  a  bill 
relative  to  endowed  schools,  which,  though  it  commanded 
the  united  conservative  vote  and  a  majority  therefore  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  the  Prime  Minister  felt  obliged 
to  withdraw.  In  this  effort,  Mr.  Richard  gained  an  unu- 
sual triumph,  as  a  party  man,  in  rallying  to  his  support, 
such  ex-ministerial  Liberals  as  Bright,  Lowe,  Goschen, 
Coleridge,  and  others.  His  recent  votes  have  been  given 
for  re-distribution  of  seats,  the  agricultural  laborers'  fran- 
chise and  other  propositions. 


HENRY    RICHARD.  25  I 

"  The  Member  for  Wales,"  as  he  is  sometimes  called, 
is  a  handsome,  and  genial  gentleman,  well  educated,  and 
with  the  ease  of  a  thorough  man  of  the  world.  He  has 
traveled  much,  has  mingled  with  the  leading  men  of  other 
lands,  is  a  fluent  and  ready  speaker ;  well  informed  and 
conscientious  writer  and  debater,  and  more  than  all,  a  man 
of  kindly  heart,  quick  sympathies  and  a  strong  and  vigor- 
ous intellect. 


PART  IV. 
POPULAR  LEADERS. 


XVI. 

George   Jacob    Holyoake. 


JUNE  day  in  1867  witnessed  a  remarkable 
meeting  in  tlie  town  of  Rochdale,  Lancashire. 
This  is  the  home  of  John  Bright,  but  it  will  be 
much  longer  remembered  as  the  scene  of  a  fruitful  exper- 
iment begun  twenty-three  years  before  the  day  on  which 
the  town  was  agitated  so  pleasantly.  The  cause  of  this 
excitement  was  the  opening  and  dedication  of  the  finest 
business  building  in  the  borough — one  of  the  finest  in  the 
county — for  the  use  of  the  famous  Co-operative  Society 
known  world-wide  as  "  The  Rochdale  Equitable  Pioneers." 
The  building  stands  at  the  head  of  Toad  Lane,  the  nar- 
row hilly  street  in  which  the  co-operators  first  opened  a 
store.  At  this  dedication  ceremony  and  banquet,  with  a 
subsequent  public  meeting  in  the  evening,  were  present 
gentlemen  like  Thomas  Hughes  and  Walter  Morrison, 
both  members  of  Parliament,  Vansittart  Neale,  William 
Pare,  and  others  whose  services  and  sympathies  have  made 
their  names  widely  known.  But  in  that  gathering,  either 
at  banquet  or  meeting — the  latter  being  presided  over  by 


256  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

the  Mayor — there  was  no  guest  more  honored  than  the 
gentleman  whose  name  is  at  the  head  of  this  sketch — 
George  Jacob  Holyoake. 

A  conspicuous  figure  in  Enghsh  affairs,  social  and  po- 
litical, for  now  nearly  forty  years,  he  has  been  the  founder 
and  organizer  of  one  most  notable  movement,  and  the  ad- 
vocate and  historian  of  another  still  more  remarkable. 
Mr.  Holyoake's  double  title  to  fame,  as  the  founder  of 
the  "  Gospel  of  Secular  life  "  (the  Rev.  Mr.  Molesworth 
in  his  later  English  history  has  so  designated  the  "  Secular- 
ist" movement)  and  the  historian  of  "  Co-operation,"  must 
give  him  no  slight  hold  upon  the  esteem  of  his  times  and 
the  respect  of  the  future.  He  has  won  from  the  bitterest 
of  his  opponents  a  large  measure  of  admiration  and  con- 
fidence. Into  his  fifty-eight  years  of  life  have  been  crowded 
the  labors  of  a  century  in  agitation  and  literary  work.  A 
man  of  notable  appearance,  above  the  middle  height, 
slender  of  frame,  he  impresses  one  as  being  wiry  rather 
than  strong,  nervous  and  spare,  with  a  striking  head  and 
face.  His  features  are  sharp  cut  and  marked  with  rather 
thin  nostrils  and  mobile  mouth,  indicating  a  capacity  for 
sarcastic  speech,  which  is  not  belied  by  the  facts.  Mr. 
Holyoake  wears  a  beard  and  mustache,  which  become 
the  artistic  and  well  poised  head.  The  dark  hair,  now 
gray,  is  brushed  back  of  his  ears,  revealing  a  long  head, 
the  larger  part  of  which  is  set  well  forward,  with  a  strong, 
though  not  broad  forehead.  The  general  intellectual  ex- 
pression is  one  of  thoughtful  acuteness.  Individuality  is 
evident  in  every  expression,  from  the  sharp  high-keyed 
voice,  the  keen  eyes  looking  out  humorously  from  under 
heavy   lids    and    brows,    and    the     slight     nervous     but 


GEORGE  JACOB  HOLYOAKE.        257 

characteristic  gestures  which  accompany  his  speech.  He 
is  a  man  of  wit  as  well  as  knowledge.  Radical  though  he 
has  always  been,  and  that  on  topics  that  have  usually 
ostracized  their  advocates  in  English  society,  his  social 
tact  has  enabled  him  to  conquer  personal  prejudices,  so 
that  there  is  scarcely  a  public  man  more  welcomed  by  all 
with  whom  his  work  brings  him  in  contact — no  matter  to 
what  class  they  may  belong. 

The  men  of  Birmingham  have  been  termed  the  Yankees 
of  England,  and  there  is  something  in  the  nervous  tem- 
perament and  expression  of  Mr.  Holyoake,  which  recalls 
the  best  New  England  type.  He  was  born  in  that  town 
in  18 1 7.  The  family  from  which  he  is  descended  were 
once  well  known  armorers,  and  in  days  gone  by,  possessed 
a  valuable  freehold,  but  none  of  it  descended  to  the  branch 
of  which  Mr.  Holyoake  is  a  member.  Work  was  his  only 
inheritance.  He  is  accustomed  to  say  "  he  was  born  with 
steel  and  books  in  his  blood."  His  father  was  a  famous 
worker  at  the  forge,  and  his  mother  inherited  and  con- 
ducted a  small  button-making  business — the  old  fashioned 
horn  button  with  copper  shank.  Both  parents  were  per- 
sons of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence.  At  six  years  of 
age,  the  future  agitator  and  journalist  began  w^ork  in  his 
mother's  shop,  which  was  continued  several  years,  until  the 
introduction  of  machinery  broke  up  the  business.  It  was 
an  occupation  which  gave  employment  then  to  a  large 
number,  and  conducted  as  it  was  by  persons  with  small 
capital,  it  was  mostly  carried  on  at  home.  George  and  his 
brother  Austin  (who  died  during  the  past  year)  were  kept 
busy  at  school  and  shop.  The  elder  brother  was  afterwards 
employed  at  a  tin-plate  factory.     When  Mr.  Holyoake  was 

17 


258  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

twelve  years  of  age,  and  from  that  time  until  he  was 
twenty-two,  he  worked  at  the  Eagle  Foundry,  where  his 
father  had  been  foreman  of  the  whitesmiths  for  forty  years. 
The  son  bore  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  workman. 
He  has  often  declared  that  he  could  resume  with  success 
either  of  the  trades  he  learned  when  a  youth,  not  having 
forgotten  his  skill  therein.  He  gave  early  evidence  of  his 
ability,  having  invented  several  machines  before  arriving 
at  manhood,  and  laboring  steadily  to  qualify  himself  for 
the  profession  of  civil  engineer.  The  Mechanics'  Insti- 
tute and  the  workshop  were  his  college,  and  the  thorough- 
ness of  his  preparation  is  evinced  by  the  character  of  the 
works  on  educational  matters  he  has  since  written.  Among 
them  are  "  Mathematics  no  Mystery,"  "  Practical  Gram- 
mar," "  Logic  of  Facts,"  "  Public  Speaking  and  Debate." 
Of  this  latter,  so  competent  an  authority  as  Wendell 
Phillips  has  spoken  in  high  terms.  In  furtherance  of  his 
intention  to  pursue  the  profession  of  civil  engineering, 
Mr.  Holyoake's  name  was  placed,  through  the  interven- 
tion of  Mr.  Lloyd,  a  magistrate  of  Birmingham,  upon  the 
staff  of  George  Stephenson,  then  in  the  earlier  years  of 
his  memorable  career.  Circumstances,  however,  led  the 
young  workman  away  from  this  design,  and  enlisted  him 
in  tlie  discussion  caused  by  Robert  Owen's  doctrines  and 
plans. 

Mrs.  Holyoake,  the  mother  of  our  keen-witted  youth, 
was  a  woman  of  strong  religious  convictions,  and  her  sons 
were  steady  attendants  on  the  Baptist  Sabbath  Schools. 
The  founder  of  the  Secularists  and  Editor  of  the  Reasoner 
became  a  teacher  himself  in  the  religious  society  where 
his  mother  worshiooed.  But  other  influences  were  at  work 


GEORGE    JACOB    IIOLVOAKE.  259 

The  Mechanics'  Institute  of  Birmingham  was  the  resort 
of  many  young  men  who  have  since  become  known  in 
public  affairs.  In  1837,  ^''-  Holyoake,  then  twenty  years 
of  age,  heard  Robert  Owen  lecture  for  the  first  time.  He 
almost  immediately  identified  himself  with  the  new  move- 
ment, and  before  he  was  twenty-three  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  "  Social  Missionaries,"  as  the  lecturers  on  Mr. 
Owen's  Social  Science  were  termed.  Before  this  period, 
however,  he  had  tried  himself  in  public,  by  teaching  and 
lecturing  in  the  Mechanics'  Institute,  of  which  he  for  a 
time  acted  as  Superintendent.  His  activity  was  not  con- 
fined to  social  studies  and  self-improvement,  but  early  took 
the  political  bent  it  has  since  followed.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  famous  "  Birmingham  Political  Union,"  from 
which  sprung  the  Chartist  movement,  and  which  has  thus 
exercised  a  decided  influence  on  English  opinion.  William 
Pare,  for  many  years  its  Town  Clerk  and  one  of  the  most 
respected  citizens,  was,  next  to  Mr.  Owen  himself,  the  fore- 
most champion  of  the  captivating  social  philosophy  of  the 
founder  of  New  Lanark.  Mr.  Holyoake  came  next.  Like 
Mr.  Pare,  who  died  within  the  last  two  years,  he  has  never 
deserted  his  first  standard.  Apparently,  amid  all  the 
more  exciting  discussions  and  contests  in  which  he  has 
been  engaged  or  led,  it  is  co-operation  and  the  hopes  it 
holds  out  of  social  regeneration,  that  have  commanded  his 
heartiest  exertions  and  maintained  the  strongest  sway 
over  his  mind. 

The  social  condition  about  him — he  was  born  and 
reared  in  the  very  center  of  English  factory  life,  being  of 
it  and  in  it — was  such  as  to  attract  his  deepest  sympathies 
and  arouse  his  most  earnest  activity.     In  his  veiy  inter- 


26o  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

esting  history  of  "  Co-operation  in  Rochdale,"  he  gives  a 
graphic  picture  of  the  "  state  of  trade,"  and  "  agitation," 
at  the  time  the  association  of  "  Equitable  Pioneers  "  was 
formed. 

The  flannel  M'eavers  of  Rochdale  "  who  were,"  he 
says,  "  and  are  still,  a  badly  paid  class  of  laborers,  took  it 
into  their  heads  to  ask  for  an  advance  of  wages."  This 
was  near  the  close  of  1843.  Mr.  Holyoake  describes  how 
some  employers,  more  liberal  than  the  others,  made  an  ex- 
perimental advance — the  wages  to  be  reduced  if  others 
did  not  come  up  to  the  standard.  This  did  not  work  and 
a  "  strike"  was  determined  upon.  A  trades'  union  depu- 
tation was  a  dangerous  business  then, — for  the  men  who 
were  made  members  of  it.  After  the  excitement  was  over, 
these  leaders  found  it  impossible,  as  a  rule,  to  obtain 
work,  and  were  generally  compelled  to  emigrate  or  seek 
other  occupations.  This  was  the  state  of  affairs  which  the 
flannel  weavers  had  to  contemplate.  However,  a  strike 
was  determined  upon.  The  result  was,  not  an  advance  of 
wages,  but  the  "  Equitable  Pioneers,"  which  a  few  of  the 
wiser  men  started  as  a  means  of  helping  themselves  and 
their  class  in  the  straits  to  which  they  were  reduced.  Mr. 
Holyoake  tells  this  preliminary  skirmish  so  well  and  it  has 
to  do  with  so  much  of  his  own  life-work,  that  it  is  not  in- 
propriate  to  give  a  portion  of  the  story  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, especially  as  it  is  a  good  illustration  of  his  literary 
style. 

"  At  this  period  the  views  of  Mr.  Robert  Owen,  which 
had  often  been  advocated  in  Rochdale,  recurred  to  the 
vi'eavers.  Socialist  advocates,  whatever  faults  they  else 
might  have,    had  at  least    done  one  service   to  the    em- 


GEORGE  JACOB  HOLYOAKE.        26 1 

plo\-ers  —  they  had  taught  workmen  to  reason  upon  theii 
condition — they  had  shown  that  commerce  was  a  system, 
and  that  masters  were  slaves  of    it  as  well  as  the  men. 

*  *  *  And  if  the  men  became  masters  to-morrow, 
lliey  would  be  found  doing  pretty  much  as  masters  now  do. 

*  *  The  socialism  of  this  period  marked  the  time  when 
industrial  agitation  first  took  to  reasoning.  "  '  He  quotes 
Ebenezer  Elliott's  epigram  to  deny  that  such  societies 
ever  found  place  in  England. 

" '  What  is  a  Communist  ?     One  who  hatli  yearnings 
For  equal  division  of  unequal  earnings  ; 
Idler  or  bungler,  or  both,  he  is  willing 
To  fork  out  his  penny,  and  pocket  your  shilling.' 

"The  English  working  class  have  no  weakness  in  the 
way  of  idleness  ;  they  never  become  dangerous  until  they 
have  nothing  to  do.  Their  revolutionary  cry  is  always 
'•more  7c<o>-k  f  They  never  ask  for  bread  half  so  eagerly 
as  they  ask  for  employment.  Communists  in  England 
were  never  either  '  idlers  or  bunglers.'  When  the  Bishop 
of  Exeter,  *  *  troubled  Parliament,  in  1840,  with  a 
motion  for  the  suppression  of  Socialism,  and  an  inquiry 
was  sent  to  the  police  authorities  of  the  principal  towns, 
as  to  the  character  of  the  persons  holding  those  opinions, 
(the  same  who  built  in  Manchester  the  Hall  of  Science, 
now  the  Free  Library,  at  an  expense  of  ;^6ooo  or  ;^7ooo,) 
the  answer  was  that  these  persons  consisted  of  the  most 
skilled,  well  conducted  and  intelligent  of  the  working 
class.  Sir  Charles  Shaw  sent  to  the  Manchester  Social 
Institution  for  some  one  to  call  upon  him,  that  he  might 


262  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

make  inquiries  relative  to  special  proceedings.  Mr.  Lloyd 
Jones  went  to  him,  and  Sir  Charles  Shaw  said  that,  wlien 
he  took  office  as  the  superintendent  of  the  police  of  that 
district,  he  gave  orders  that  the  religious  profession  of 
every  individual  taken  to  the  station-house  should  be  noted  ; 
and  he  had  had  prisoners  of  all  religious  denominations,  but 
never  one  Socialist.  Sir  C.  Shaw  said  also,  that  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  purchasing  all  the  publications  of  the 
Society,  and  he  was  convinced,  that  if  they  had  not  in- 
fluenced the  public  mind  very  materially,  the  outbreaks  at 
the  time,  when  they  wanted  to  introduce  the  general  '  holi- 
day,' would  have  been  much  worse  than  they  were,  and  he 
was  quite  willing  to  state  that  before  the  government,  if  he 
should  be  called  upon  to  give  an  opinion. 

"  The  followers  of  Mr.  Owen  were  never  the  '  idlers,' 
but  the  philanthropic.  They  might  be  dreamers,  but  they 
were  not  knaves.  They  protested  against  competition  as 
leading  to  immorality.  Their  objections  to  it  were  theor- 
etically acquired.  They  were  none  of  them  afraid  of  com- 
petition, for  out  of  the  Socialists  of  1840  have  proceeded 
the  most  enterprising  emigrants,  and  the  most 
spirited  men  of  business  who  have  risen  from  the 
working  classes.  The  world  is  dotted  with  them  at  the 
present  hour,  and  the  history  of  the  Rochdale  Pioneers  is 
another  proof  that  they  were  not  'bunglers.'  No  popular 
movement  in  England  ever  produced  so  many  persons  able 
to  take  care  of  themselves  as  the  agitation  of  Social  Reform. 
Moreover,  the  pages  of  the  A^ew  Moral  World  and  the 
Northerfi  Star  of  this  period  amply  testify  that  the  Social 
Reformers  were  opposed  to  '  strikes,'  as  an  untutored  and 
often  frantic  method  of  industrial  rectification  ;  as  wanting 


GEORGE    JACOB    IIOLYOAKE.  263 

foresight,  calculation,  and  fitness  ;  as  an  irritation,  a  waste 
of  money  and  temjDcr.  And  when  a  strike  led,  as  tiiey 
ofien  have  done,  to  workmen  coercing  their  comrades,  and 
forcibly  preventin^^  those  who  were  willing  to  work  at  the 
objectionable  rate,  from  doing  so,  the  strike  became  an 
injustice  and  a  tyranny,  vexatious,  disreputable,  and  inde- 
fensible." * 

It  was  of  the  class  thus  described  by  Mr.  Holyoake 
that  the  Rochdale  co-operation  movement  sprung.  The 
same  sort  of  men  and  women  were  assembled,  7000  strong, 
at  the  celebration  mentioned  in  the  opening  of  this  sketch. 
These  men  were  the  sturdiest  supporters  of  the  union  cause 
in  England,  and  their  co-operative  funds,  and  those  of  so- 
cieties that  had  sprung  from  their  example,  were  the  savings 
banks  that  kept  them  and  their  families  from  pauperism 
during  the  weary  two  years  of  the  cotton  famine. 

Mr.  Holyoake's  own  life  diverged  just  before  the  time 
the  Rochdale  movement  was  first  under  way,  from  the  gen- 
eral course  and  causes  he  had  been  advocating,  into  other 
and  quite  as  marked  channels.  He  had  drifted  early  into 
Unitarianism  ;  later  becoming  a  Theist — a  position  to 
which  he  is  perhaps  nearer  still  than  any  other,  religiously 
speaking.  He  was  at  any  rate  a  moderate  Freethinker  .- 
not  specially  pronounced  in  the  ranks.  He  was  moreover 
an  active  Chartist  speaker.  A  writer  in  the  Beehive,  sketch- 
ing  the  lives  of  prominent  co-operators,  says  : — 

"  It  was  lecturing  to  the  Chartists  in  their  room  in  Chel. 
tenham  "On  Home  Colonization,"  in  1841,  that  led  to  his 
imprisonment  in  Gloucester  Gaol.     A  question  was  put  to 

*  "  History  of  the  Rochdale  Equitable  Pioneers,"  Part  I.,  pp.  7,  8. 
Tiirbner  &  Co. 


264  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

him  as  to  his  theological  opinions  ;  his  rule  was  never  tc 
introduce  them  into  his  lectures  and  other  subjects,  and  it 
was  because  he  had  not  introduced  them  that  the  question 
was  put  to  him.  Usually  Mr.  Holyoake  refused  to  answer 
such  questions,  as  being  irrelevant  and  impertinent,  but  at 
that  time  a  case  had  occurred  in  the  town  which  led  the 
public  to  believe  that  social  advocates  were  timorous  of 
avowing  their  opinions.  Resolv.ed  that  this  should  not  be 
said  of  him,  Mr.  Holyoake  answered  the  question  directly 
and  explicitly,  and  was  ultimately  tried  at  the  Gloucester 
Assizes  for  the  answer  he  gave.  Mr.  Justice  Erskine,  who 
tried  him,  admitted  it  was  an  honest  answer,  and  gave  him 
six  months'  imprisonment  as  an  encouragement  to  youth- 
ful candor.  Mr.  Bransby  Cooper,  brother  of  Sir  Astley^ 
the  chief  magistrate  of  the  county,  visited  the  gaol  before 
the  trial  and  told  Mr.  Holyoake  that  he  would  not  be  al- 
lowed to  speak  in  his  own  defence  in  court.  Mr.  Holy- 
oake said  in  that  case  he  would  try,  and  he  spoke  nine 
hours,  fifteen  minutes.  Being  satisfied  towards  evening 
that  the  court  was  hearing  him,  he  concluded  his  defence 
at  half-past  nine  at  night.  Mr.  Knight  Hunt,  who  became 
editor  of  the  Daily  News  on  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Charles 
Dickens,  personally  reported  the  trial  in  full."* 

The  question  addressed  to  Mr.  Holyoake  was  as  to  his 
belief  in  the  truth  of  some  quoted  portion  of  the  Bible,  and 
his  reply  was  in  other  words  from  the  same  volume,  not 
usually  used  in  such  a  manner.  He  was  tried  under  an 
old  law,  on  a  charge  of  blasphemy — and  his  trial  and  con 
viction  was  the  last  one  of  the  kind  in  Great  Britain.     Mr 

*  London  Beehive,  ]\.\\\z  5,  1875. 


GEORGE  JACOB  HOLYOAKE.        265 

Holyoake  in  his  subsequent  organization  of  the  society  of 
Secularists,  an  account  of  whose  aims  may  be  found  in  the 
sketch  of  Charles  Bradlaugh,  did  not  mean,  as  he  has  re- 
peatedly since  avowed,  to  organize  Atheism  or  Theism  into 
a  sect,  but  rather  to  find  a  common  band  of  association  by 
which  those  who  believed  in  the  right  of  free  iaquiry  could 
be  socially  protected  by  the  creation  of  an  organized  pub- 
lic sentiment  strong  enough  to  ensure  respect.  Its  plat- 
form was  so  drawn  that  no  one  need  be  excluded.  The 
Gospel  of  Common  Life — the  daily  duty  of  an  every-day 
world  was  announced  to  be  its  aim.  The  future  was  to  be 
left  to  itself.  Mr.  Holyoake  delivered  a  remarkable  lec- 
ture about  these  days,  on  the  "  Organization  of  Ideas — 
not  Arms,"  which  dealt  with  the  views  already  indicated- 
He  included  the  idea  that  there  was  a  secular  side  as  well 
as  a  religious  part  to  every  moral  issue,  and  that  there  should 
be  perfect  harmony  among  all  parties  in  working  for  that 
side,  irrespective  of  theological  views. 

During  the  ten  or  twelve  years  following  his  incarcera- 
tion in  Gloucester  Jail,  Mr.  Holyoake  was  actively  em- 
ployed as  a  lecturer  on  co-operative  topics,  and  in  or- 
ganizing and  lecturing  to  Secular  Societies.  His  labors 
were  chiefly  confined  to  the  manufacturing  districts, 
though  in  1847,  or  '48  he  took  up  his  residence  in  London 
where  he  still  lives.  He  was  for  several  years  editor  of 
the  Ncio  Moral  World,  the  organ  of  co-operation  as  repre- 
sented by  Robert  Owen.  He  then  commenced  the  publi- 
cation of  the  Reasoner,  which  was  continued  for  about 
fifteen  years,  thirty  volumes  being  published  in  all.  It 
numbered  among  its  contributors  Prof.  Francis  A.  New 
man,  William  J.   Linton,  Joseph   Mazzini,  and  other  dis' 


266  13RIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

tinguished  persons.  He  was  also  editor  with  Mr.  Linton 
of  a  Chartist  publication,  "The  Cause  of  the  People," 
and  assisted  in  the  editorship  of  the  famous  Leader,  foi 
which  he  wrote  regularly  over  the  signature  of  "Ion."  He 
has  also  edited  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Age,''  the  "  British  Leader''' 
and  the  "  Social Econojftist" — the  latter  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  E.  O.  Greening.  As  a  contributor  to  the  press  and 
in  general  literary  work  his  labors  have  been  immense. 
He  was  for  several  years,  and  probably  still  is,  connected 
with  the  Daily  News,  besides  being  the  London  corres- 
pondent of  The  Newcastle  Chronicle,  and  Birmingham 
Post  among  provincial  papers,  and  a  frequent  correspond- 
ent of  the  New  York  Tribune.  Mr.  Greeley  was  greatly 
attached  to  Mr.  Holyoake,  and  the  latter  dedicated  his 
"  Histor}^  of  Co-operation  in  Halifax "  to  the  eminent 
editor.  His  connection  with  American  affairs  has  been 
quite  intimate,  though  he  has  never  visited  the  United 
States.  The  Beehive  w-riter  already  quoted,  sketching  his 
services  to  the  co-operative  cause,  says  :  "  Being  one  of 
those  who  in  1842  and  1843  visited  Rochdale  as  a  lecturer, 
he  encouraged  the  recommencement  of  the  co-operation 
in  that  town,  and  wrote  many  years  later  the  history  of  the 
famous  store  which  began  there  in  1844,  a  history  which 
has  been  translated  into  German,  Italian,  Spanish,  Rus- 
sian, and  circulated  or  reprinted  both  in  India,  America, 
and  Australia.  Mr.  Holyoake  never  stipulated  or  received 
any  advantage  from  the  copyrights  of  his  works,  his  idea 
simply  being  to  advance  the  objects  they  represented.  *  * 
At  many  of  the  meetings  of  the  Association  for  Promo- 
ting  Social  Science,  Mr.  Holyoake  has  read  papers  illus- 
trative of  co-operative  principles   and  progress.     He  has 


GEORGE  JACOB  HOLYOAKE.        267 

edited  several  of  the  reports  of  the  annual  co-operative  con- 
gresses, and  has  contributed  to  the  Co-operative  News,  be- 
sides pubHshing  numerous  small  pamphlets,  as  new  meth- 
ods of  co-operative  development  seemed  to  require  discus- 
sion." In  the  introduction  to  the  Report  of  the  Congress 
of  1872,  Mr.  Holyoake  thus  pleasantly  speaks  of  the  gen- 
eral condition  of  his  favorite  movement  at  that  date.  The 
paragraph  gives  a  clear  view  of  its  progress  and  has  there- 
fore merit  besides  what  it  gains  from  the  cheery  way  in 
which  it  is  put.     He  says  : — 

"  The  Italians  have  a  proverb,  wonderful  in  its  sagacity  for  that 
quick-witted  people ;  it  is  this :  '  Those  who  go  slowly  go  far.'  Then 
Co-operation  may  be  expected  to  go  far,  for  it  had  the  courage  te^o 
very  slowly  and  to  keep  on  going.  And  it  has  gone  both  slow  and  far. 
It  has  issued  like  the  tortoise  from  its  Lancashire  home  in  England ;  it 
has  traversed  France ;  it  has  overrun  Germany ;  it  has  crept  under  the 
frozen  steppes  of  Russia  ;  the  bright-minded  Bengalese  is  applying  it ; 
the  soon-seeing  and  far-seeing  American  is  turning  over  the  idea ;  and 
our  own  emigrant  countrymen  in  Australia  are  endeavoring  to  natural- 
ize it  there.  Clearly  Co-operation  has  become  what  the  Times  used  to 
call  an  'established  fact.'  Like  Liebig's  new  essence  of  beef,  or  a 
good  chronometer,  Co-operation  is  unaffected  by  change  of  climate. 
It  remains  fresh  and  wholesome  and  goes  well ;  and  we  may  say  more, 
looking  at  its  progress  now,  it  goes  fast  as  well  as  far." 

While  writing  for  the  Leader  in  1852  Mr.  Holyoake's 
criticism  of  the  Abolition  movement  here  and  the  policy 
of  Mr.  Garriscn  excited  sharp  discussion,  and  brought 
from  Wendell  Phillips  one  of  the  most  masterly  orations 
of  his  Anti-slaverylife.  It  was  made  in  the  Boston  Melo- 
deon,  January  27,  1853,  and  is  published  in  a  volume  of 
collected  speeches,  under  the  title  of  "  Philosophy  of  the 
Abolition  movement."  The  gist  of  Mr.  Holyoake's  criti 
cism  is  in   this  paragraph,  which   follows   a  partial  quota- 


268  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

tion  of  Garrison's  famous  declaration,  that  "  I  am  in  earn- 
est,— I  will  not  equivocate — I  will  not  excuse — I  will  not 
retreat  a  single  inch — and  I  will  be  heard."  "  Ion  " 
wrote — "  This  is  a  defence  which  has  been  generally  ac- 
cepted this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  many  are  the  aboli- 
tionists among  us  whom  it  has  encouraged  in  honesty  and 
impotence,  and  whom  it  converted  into  conscientious 
hindrances.  We  would  have  Mr.  Garrison  to  say  '  I  will 
be  as  harsh  a.s  progress^  as  uncompromising  as  success.''  If 
a  man  speak  for  his  own  gratification,  he  may  be  as  harsh 
as  he  pleases ;  but  if  he  speaks  for  the  down-trodden  and 
oppressed,  he  must  be  content  to  put  a  curb  upon  the 
tongue  of  holiest  passion,  and  speak  only  as  harshly  as  is 
compatible  with  the  amelioration  of  the  evil  he  proposes 
to  redress." 

The  writer  s  own  philosophy  of  agitation  could  not  be 
expressed  in  terser  or  more  appropriate  words  than  are 
embraced  in  the  last  sentence.  His  life  and  methods  are 
the  evidences  of  his  adherence  to  the  view  thus  expressed. 
It  brought  upon  him,  however,  not  only  the  sweeping 
splendors  of  Mr.  Phillips' reply,  but  bitter  criticism  among 
friends  and  whilom  associates  at  home.  One  of  them 
wrote  in  reply  to  "  Ion  "  a  harsh  review,  closing  with  this 
caustic  personal  attack  :  "  We  have  spoken  harshly ;  but 
not  more  harshly  than  seemed  good,  nor  without  truth.*  * 
In  an  age  whose  great  evil  is  the  absence  of  faith,  he 
sets  himself  to  undermine  the  very  ground  of  faith  ;  in 
a  time  of  narrow  sects  and  exclusive  individualisms,  which 
prevent  all  'combination  for  the  sake  of  progress,  he 
preaches  atheism,  which  is  the  justification  of  selfishness, 
*    *    *    It  may  be  harsh  to  say  of  him  that  he  is  an  ill-con- 


GEORGE  JACOB  HOLYOAKE.        269 

ditioned  cross  between  the  Atheist  and  the  Jesuit,  an  ob- 
sequious seeker  of  success;  that  we  doubt  his  sincerity 
and  bid  men  beware  his  guidance.     It  is  harsh  as  truth."* 

It  is  the  old  difference  of  methods.  No  truer  and 
braver  Hfe  has  ever  been  spent  in  the  service  of  man,  than 
that  of  him  who  penned  this  severe  judgment.  Artist, 
poet,  defender  and  servant  of  Hberty ;  the  writer  thereof 
had,  like  Garrison,  no  choice  in  his  temperament  or  heart, 
for  any  words  that  did  not  express  the  whole  of  the  truth 
as  he  saw  it.  Yet  the  same  hand  writes  recently,  that 
without  Holyoake's  efforts  much  of  what  has  been  achieved 
in  England,  in  free  thought  and  broader  fields  of  work  would 
have  been  impossible.  There  will  always  be  those  who, 
like  George  Jacob  Holyoake,  will  counsel  a  wise  modera- 
tion. These  things  are  a  matter  of  temperament  as  well 
as  of  conviction,  and  results  will  always  be  appealed  to  as 
vindicating  both  views. 

There  is  no  radical  question  or  reform  movement  oc- 
curring in  England  for  the  long  period  of  Mr.  Holyoake's 
active  life,  in  which  he  has  failed  to  take  a  prominent  part, 
and  to  do  good  service,  often  the  very  best,  by  pen  and 
tongue.  After  his  removal  to  London,  he  and  his  brother 
Austin,  were  associated  together  in  a  publishing  house, 
which  issued  the  Reasoner,  and  also  many  books  and  pam- 
phlets that  otherwise  might  not  have  found  publication. 
This  business  house  became  the  head-quarters  of  many 
movements,  Mr.  Holyoake's  personal  and  social  qualities, 
as  well  as  his  ability  as  an  organizer  of  agitation,  bringing  him 
into  constant  demand.    It  was  here  that  were  held  the  ses- 


The  Enslish  Republic,"  Vol.  I.,  March,  1853. 


270  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

sions  of  the  Anti-Conspiracy  Committee  formed  to  resist 
certain  legislation  proposed  by  Lord  Palmerston.  Before 
the  Orsini  attempt  on  the  life  of  Louis  Napoleon  was 
made,  England  had  always  accorded  the  right  of  refuge  to 
political  offenders  from  other  countries.  After  the  Orsini 
plot,  a  great  outcry  was  made  in  France  against  this  policy. 
The  demand  made  by  the  Imperial  Government,  though 
not  as  dictatorial  in  form,  was  in  substance  very  much  like 
that  more  recently  made  by  the  German  Chancellor  against 
the  Belgian  Government  in  the  matter  of  an  alleged  ultra- 
montane, plot  against  Prince  Bismarck.  The  French  de- 
mand was  aimed  at  the  French  exiles  in  the  Channel 
Islands,  and  especially  at  Mazzini,  whose  extradition 
from  London  at  the  time  and  subsequently  would  have 
been  regarded  as  a  great  triumph.  The  Italian  Revolu- 
tionist was  accused  of  participation  in  the  attempted 
assassination  or  regicide.  Those  who  knew  him  most  in- 
timately and  possessed  his  confidence,  emphatically  deny 
this.  The  French  exiles  living  in  the  Island  of  Jersey, 
Victor  Hugo,  Felix  Pyat,  since  known  as  a  communist 
leader,  and  others,  were  set  upon  by  mobs  ;  the  inmates  of 
Hauteville  only  escaping  through  the  respect  that  even 
sycophancy  could  not  help  according  to  genius.  George 
Julian  Harney,  now  residing  in  Boston,  but  at  the  time 
editing  a  liberal  newspaper  in  Jersey,  was  the  only  English- 
man there  brave  enough  to  resist  the  tide  of  excitement. 
The  committee  of  which  Mr.  Holyoake  was  secretary,  and 
which  met  in  his  house,  was  composed  of  and  sustained  by 
some  of  the  strongest  men  in  E-ngland.  Lord  Palmerston's 
bill  was  defeated  and  with  it,  his  ministiy  was  overthrown. 
Mr.  Holyoake  was  also  the  acting  secretary  of  the  Gari- 


GEORGE  JACOB  HOLYOAKE.        27  I 

baldi  Coininiltee,  by  which  tiic  famous  Ihitish  Legion  was 
organized  and  sent  to  the  Italian  Liberator.  The  officer 
in  charge  of  that  movement  was  an  American  brother  of  a 
distinguished  admiral  in  our  navy. 

From  the  Beehive  sketch,  already  referred  to,  the  fol- 
lowing personal  facts  are  taken  : 

'■'  When  no  one  else  could  be  found  to  publish  the 
special  unstamped  newspapers,  during  the  final  agitation 
for  repealing  the  taxes  on  knowledge,  Mr.  Holyoake  un- 
dertook to  do  so,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  C.  D.  Col- 
let, the  masterly  secretary  of  that  movement.  The  publi- 
cation of  the  War  Chronicles,  devised  during  the  Crimean 
war,  involved  Mr.  Holyoake  in  fines  of  more  than  ^600,000, 
which  when  called  upon  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer  to 
pay,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  asking  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  to  take  weekly,  not  having  the  amount 
by  him.  The  last  warrant  issued  before  the  repeal  of  the 
acts  was  against  Mr.  Holyoake.  In  this  matter,  as  all 
others  in  which  he  was  concerned,  Mr.  Holyoake  followed 
the  rule  of  never  putting  himself  forward  to  do  the  thing 
in  hand ;  but,  if  no  one  else  would  do  it,  and  it  ought  to 
be  done,  he  did  it. 

"  Mr.  Holyoake's  opinions  have  several  times  been 
quoted  in  Parliamentary  debates.  Under  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  late  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill,  Mr,  Holyoake  became  a 
candidate  for  the  Tower  Hamlets,  in  1864,  but  ultimately 
resigned  in  favour  of  Mr.  Ayrton.  At  the  election  before 
the  last  (1868)  INIr.  Holyoake  addressed  the  electors  of 
Birmingham,  desiring  if  a  working-class  candidate  was 
chosen,  to  represent  his  own  town. 

"  Several  public  discussions,  considered  to  have  been 


272  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  influence  in  their  day,  have  been  held  by  Mr.  Holyoake, 
Observing  that  reports  had  for  many  years  been  published 
by  the  Government  on  the  state  of  commerce  and  manu- 
factures abroad,  for  the  use  of  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers, Mr.  Holyoake  at  length  succeeded  in  inducing  the 
Foreign  Office,  in  the  days  of  Lord  Clarendon,  to  issue 
similar  reports  for  the  use  of  working  men,  from  every 
country  abroad  where  her  Majesty  had  secretaries  of  em- 
bassy and  legation. 

"The  plan  of  these  reports  was  devised  and  furnished 
by  Mr.  Holyoake.  They  state  what  the  purchasing  power 
of  money  is  in  foreign  countries  compared  with  England, 
so  that  a  workman  may  know,  if  he  earns  $2  per  week  at 
home  or  $4  a  week  abi'oad,  whether  he  will  be  better  or 
worse  off  ;  what  the  state  of  the  labor  market  is  in  foreign 
countries  ;  how  workmen  are  hired  and  housed  there  ;  what 
kind  of  habitations  they  would  have  to  occupy  ;  what  dif- 
ficulty his  family  must  have  to  exist  in  health  ;  what  pro- 
vision as  to  clothing  they  must  make  ;  what  is  the  charac- 
ter of  workmen  in  countries  abroad  ;  were  they  good  crafts- 
men ;  did  they  take  pride  in  their  work,  and  put  their 
character  into  it  ?  Such  questions  were  never  before  put 
and  never  before  answered  ;  and  no  books  are  more  curi- 
ous and  valuable  to  working  men  than  these  publications 
of  the  Foreign  Office.  Lord  Clarendon  always  said  in  the 
handsomest  manner  in  his  despatches  that  ttese  reports 
were  issued  on  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Holyoake.  After 
endeavours  extending  over  twenty  years,  he  mainly  pro- 
cured the  passing  of  the  Secular  Affirmation  Act,  by  which 
co-operative  property  was  largely  secured  ;  many  of  the 
most  influential  managers  objecting,  like  Mr.  Holyo-ake,  to 


GEORGE    JACOB    IIOLYOAKE.  273 

take  the  ordinary  oath,  not  being  able  to  do  so  in  the  sense 
required  by  the  court." 

Since  the  discontinua-nce  of  the  Reasoner,  Mr.  Hol- 
yi)ake's  time  has  been  ahiiost  entirely  occupied  with  co- 
operative work,  and  his  journalistic  labors.  He  has 
written  extensively,  and  for  several  years  past  has  been  en- 
gaged on  a  "  History  of  Co-operation,"  the  first  volume  of 
which  has  recently  been  published  by  Triibner  &  Co.  This 
work  he  regards  as  his  magnum  opus,  and  justly  so.  He 
reviews  the  curious  out-of-the-way  facts  that  belong  to  the 
pioneer  period  of  the  English  movement,  from  18 12  to  1S44. 
— now  almost  entirely  forgotten.  More  than  that,  Mr.  Hoi 
yoake's  first  volume  is  a  decided  contribution  to  the  His- 
toiy  of  social  science  and  civilization,  as  he  links  the  pres- 
ent great  practical  efforts  with  the  various  preceding 
socialist  schools  and  their  leaders,  bringing  continuously 
before  his  readers  the  relations  which  they  occupy  to  one 
another,  and  the  points  of  difference  as  well  as  of  simi- 
larity in  their  systems.  It  is  full  of  scholarly  information 
and  "  thumb-nail  "  sketches,  so  to  speak,  of  men  of  the 
past  fifty  years,  who  have  in  their  day  and  generation,  been 
marked  characters.  No  man  can  do  such  work  better 
than  Mr.  Holyoake.  Besides  his  pleasant  graphic  style, 
witty  way,  and  thorough  acquaintance  with  his  themes,  he 
can  say  with  the  pious  ^neas — "  all  which  I  saw,  and  part 
of  which  I  was." 

Mr.  Holyoake  was  married  early  in  life.  He  has  been 
a  widower  for  several  years.  His  two  sons  are  both  able 
men — one  is  an  engraver  of  repute  and  the  other  is  known 
in  connection  with  art  matters,  as  a  good  writer  and  critic, 
and  also  as  an  excellent  restorer  of  pictures,  by  a  process 
12*  18 


2  74  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  his  own  invention.  Mr.  Holyoake  has  recently  had 
two  severe  attacks  of  illness,  one  of  which  threatened  his 
eye-sight  so  seriously  that  he  has  not  yet  recovered  from 
its  effects.  His  life  has  been  so  busily  occupied  in  service 
to  others,  that  the  pleasant  testimonial  which  his  friends 
have  been  raising  in  his  behalf  will  not  be  ungrateful  or 
come  before  it  is  needed.  A  considerable  amount  has  been 
collected.  Among  other  sums  was  five  thousand  dollars 
raised  by  English  weavers  employed  at  Fall  River,  Mass. 
This  fact  speaks  well  for  the  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Hol- 
yoake is  held  by  the  class  from  which  he  sprung.  There 
is  now  every  hope  that  there  will  be  years  of  useful  literary 
life  before  him,  if  not  of  active  agitation.  He  has  long 
meditated  a  journey  to  the  United  States,  and  it  is 
probable  that  he  will  carry  this  out  soon  after  he  is  able  to 
traveL 


XVII. 


Joseph  Arch. 


HIS  was  a  middle-aged  strong-set  man,  with  a 
powerful  honest  face  and  a  powerful  honest  voice. 
He  spoke  with  a  slight  country  accent  that  was 
not  disagreeable  ;  on  the  contrary  it  seemed  to  give  point 
and  character  to  his  sentences,  as  they  came  forth  slowly 
and  thoughtfully,  true  to  their  mark.  It  seemed  to  some  of 
those  who  listened  that  it  was  not  one  man  that  was  speak- 
ing ;  it  was  the  voice  of  a  whole  generation  of  men  and 
women  who  were  telling  the  manner  of  their  daily  lives 
and  of  their  daily  wants.  He  spoke  not  very  bitterly,  but 
clearly  and  to  the  point ; "  it  was  evident  too  that  he  had 
"  lived  through  it  all  himself  and  had  felt  hunger  and  biting 
cold,  and  seen  his  little  children  suffer,"  and  while  he  was 
speaking  "  a  sense  of  wrong  had  come  to  some  of  the  poor 
fellows  for  the  first  time." 

In  these  words  Miss  Thackeray,  in  one  of  her  charming 
minor  stories,  sketches  under  the  name  of  Bridge  the 
man  who  is  now  recognised   as  amonjc  the  most  notable 


276  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

public  characters  in  Great  Britain.  Joseph  Arch  is  indeed 
gifted  with  an  honest  face  and  voice,  while  animating  both 
is  a  purpose  so  human,  and  so  sincerely  expressed,  that  it 
has  made  the  almost  unlettered  peasant  and  humble  hedge- 
side  preacher  capable  of  moulding  the  lowly  and  moving 
the  gifted,  into  the  servants  of  his  mission.  He  is  a  man 
of  middle  stature,  stout  frame,  heavy  and  plebeian  in  as- 
pect,but  not  ungainly  in  his  appearance;  and  slow  of  motion, 
as  befits  both  his  early  pursuits  and  the  gravity  of  his 
character.  He  dresses  in  plain  and  simple  garments,  bear- 
ing the  appearance  of  an  English  yeoman  of  the  humbler 
class.  It  is  a  face  that  when  studied  justifies  his  repu- 
tation. The  head  is  large  and  well  developed,  high  in  the 
coronal  and  thinly  covered  with  brown  hair,  now  flecked 
with  grey.  Mr.  Arch  has  a  broad  and  moderately  high 
forehead,  deep  bluish-grey  eyes,  heavy  well  arched  eye- 
brows, large  well  shaped  nose  and  full  strong  mouth,  with 
w^ide  flexible  lips,  which  with  a  firm  lower  jaw,  give  an  ex- 
pression of  will,  force,  kindliness  and  decision,  such  as 
his  poiblic  life  has  shown  him  to  possess.  He  wears  his 
beard  after  the  fashion  of  English  farmers  and  workmen 
of  middle  age  and  beyond,  trimmed  close  but  full  around 
his  face,  leaving  the  chin  and  mouth  bare.  It  is  a  face 
full  of  character  in  the  best  sense.  A  simple,  sincere  man, 
but  sagacious  and  wise.  A  man  likely  to  be  upheld  and 
swayed  by  spiritual  and  moral  insight — a  dreamer  of 
dreams,  a  man  of  visions,  perhaps,  but  able  to  keep  self- 
poised  and  self-contained.  Joseph  Arch  could  never  be- 
tray a  cause ;  he  might  become  bewildered  as  the  issues 
grew  more  complex,  and  men  less  sincere  than  himself 
came  to  fatten  on  its  success.     Yet,  the  veiy  simplicity  of 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  277 

his  character  would  prove  to  be  its  strength,  and  in  the 
end  his  wisdom  would  confound  the  self-seekers.  This 
man  is  pre-eminently  the  leader  and  inspirer  of  a  move- 
ment of  which  John  Morley  wrote  when  it  began  : — "  The 
first  current  of  a  strange  social  agitation  is  passing  over 
the  land.  At  last,  after  generations  of  profound  torpor, 
our  eyes  discern  slow  stirrings  among  the  serfs  of  the  field. 
The  uncouth  Caryatides  w^ho  have  for  generations  upborne 
the  immense  structure  of  civilization  in  which  they  have 
no  lot,  have  at  length  made  a  sign.  The  huge  dumb  fig- 
ure has  tried  to  shift  a  little  from  a  position  of  insufferable 
woe.  Little  may  come  of  it.  The  current  may  soo« 
spend  itself ;  the  monstrous  burden  soon  settle  pitilessly 
down  again  on  the  heavy  unconquerable  shoulders.  The 
many  are  so  weak,  the  few  are  so  strong ;  the  conditions 
of  social  organization  shut  effort  so  fast  withi-n  an  iron 
circle.  However  this  may  be,  the  attempt  is  being  made 
by  a  company  of  poor  men  to  win  a  few  pence  more  for 
the  week's  toil,  to  raise  the  mere  material  conditions  of 
life  for  their  wives  and  their  children  a  little  further  away 
from  the  level  of  the  lives  of  brute  beasts."  * 

This  last  statement  embraced  only  the  premonitory 
issues  of  demands  more  searching  in  their  character  than 
any  of  the  radical  agitations  that  have  lately  preceded 
them.  Strangely  enough,  it  is  from  these  "uncouth  Carya- 
tides "  that  the  romance  of  English  political  agitation  has 
almost  always  proceeded.  The  Peasant  wars  of  the  four- 
teenth century  have  lent  notable  characters  to  dramatic 
literature,  and  the   names  of  Wat  Tyler,  Jack  Straw  and 

*  Fortnightly  Review,  Sept.  1873.  "The  Struggle  for  Nationai 
Education." 


278  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Jack  Cade,  with  the  memorable  Friar  John  Ball,  have 
lived  in  tradition  and  ballads,  and  animated  many  an  Eng- 
lish heart  to  life-long  exertions  in  the  People's  cause.  It 
was  not  for  a  day  only  that  John  Ball,  the  "mad  priest  "  as 
he  is  still  called,  made  household  words  of  the  rude  but 
pithy  distich  : 

"  When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span 
Who  then  was  the  gentleman  ?  " 

or  condensed  the  whole  philosophy  of  socialism  into  the 
words  with  which  he  is  accredited —  "  Good  people,  things 
will  never  go  well  in  England  so  long  as  goods  be  not  in 
common,  and  so  long  as  there  be  villains  and  gentlemen. 
By  what  right  are  they  whom  we  call  lords  greater  folks 
than  we  ?  on  v/hat  ground  have  they  deserved  it ;  why  do 
they  hold  us  in  serfage  ?  If  we  all  came  of  the  same 
father  and  mother,  of  Adam  and  Eve,  how  can  they  say  or 
prove  that  they  are  better  than  we,  if  it  be  not  that  they 
make  us  gain  for  them  by  our  toil  what  they  spend  in  their 
pride  ?  *  *  *  They  have  leisure  and  fine  houses  ;  we 
ha\e  pain  and  labor,  the  rain  and  the  wind  in  the  fields. 
Yet  it  is  of  us  and  our  toil  that  these  men  hold  their 
state."  * 

Joseph  Arch,  the  Agitator,  is  the  rightful  heir  of  the 
protest  and  aspiration  credited  to  Friar  John  Ball  five  cen- 
turies ago,  carried  through  various  outbursts  and  now 
being  translated  into  the  sober  and  practical,  though  radi- 
cal demands,  that  properly  fit  in  with  modern  English 
effort.     It  is  difficult  for  a  reader  not  thoroughly  conver- 

*  "  Green's  History  of  the  People  of  England." 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  279 

sant  with  English  social  and  industrial  life  to  fully  under 
stand  the  importance  of  the  movement  of  which  Joseph 
Arcli  is  the  leader.  The  whole  fabric  of  English  caste  and 
class  is  so  built  upon  the  system  of  Land  Tenure  and 
hereditary  ownership  of  the  soil  by  aristocratic  families, 
that  to  assail  it,  either  by  an  agitation  for  more  wages  and 
more  rights,  is  certain  to  place  the  oligarchic  control  in 
danger.  And  the  Agricultural  Laborer's  agitation  has  pro- 
voked a  searching  discussion  of  the  feudal  policy  which 
animates  every  part  of  English  land  ownership. 

Joseph  Arch  is  now  in  his  forty-ninth  year.  He  was 
born  and  still  lives  in  the  village  of  Barford,  Warwick- 
shire, one  of  the  loveliest  counties  in  the  west  of  England. 
If  as  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  wrote  in  "  Elsie  Venner," 
every  man  is  an  omnibus,  whose  inside  passengers  are  his 
ancestors,  it  is  not  without  significance  that  this  man  should 
have  been  born  in  a  section  of  England  where  the  old 
British  s-tock  has  not  been  wholly  obliterated  by  the  Saxon, 
and  from  which  sprung  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  followers 
of  Wycliffe  and  Lollard  ;  among  whom  Alfred  the  Great 
a  thousand  years  ago  found  shelter  from  harrying  North- 
men, wli^re  in  latter  centuries  the  followers  of  Hampden 
and  Cromwell  were  largely  recruited,  and  the  Prince  of 
Orange  was  welcomed  when  he  came  to  reap  a  Kingdom 
from  the  overthrow  of  the  Stuarts.  Joseph  Arch  is  the 
representative  of  one  of  those  humbler  yeoman  families, 
now  almost  extinct  in  England,  from  which  came  so  many 
of  tl'ie  early  settlers  of  New  England,  and  which  an  one 
side  has  given  many  recruits  to  the  prosperous  middle  class, 
and  on  the  other  many  more  to  the  laboring  poor  who 
have  so   long  occupied  a  "position  of  insufferable  woe." 


28o  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Arch  was,  fortunately  for  his  son,  hfted 
one  step  above  the  condition  of  a  day  laborer,  by  being 
the  owner  of  a  tiny  freehold  only  large  enough  for  a  garden 
patch,  which  with  an  humble  cottage,  has  been  retained  by 
the  President  of  the  Agricultural  Laborers'  Union.  He 
still  resides  there,  in  a  style  but  little  removed  from  that  of 
the  days  of  his  severe  manual  labor.  Born  in  1826,  it  is 
said  of  his  parents,  that —  "  His  father  slaved  and  died,  as 
most  fathers  do,  without  much  hope  and  comfort  in  this 
world  :  but  his  mother,  who  felt  and  thought  silently  over 
the  miseries  of  a  poor  man's  home,  and  who,  perhaps,  had 
concluded  that  ignorance  lay  at  the  root  of  social  misery, 
sent  her  son  Joseph  to  school  at  the  age  of  six,  and  kept 
him  there  till  between  eight  and  nine,  and  thus  found  him 
the  key  by  which  he  afterwards  succeeded  in  getting  at 
some  slight  knowledge  of  the  world  beyond  the  bounds  of 
the  village  in  which  he  lived,  and  of  seeing,  in  a  dim  way, 
those  struggles  of  men  in  history  which  explain  man's  con- 
nection with  his  fellows  in  humanit\',  not  only  by  the  past 
history  of  life,  but  by  the  wonderful  incitements  of  hope 
which  carry  forward  the  struggle  in  the  direction  of  right, 
freedom,  and  justice."* 

At  nine  years  of  age,  Joseph  Arch  was  taken  from 
school,  and  hired  ou-t  to  a  neighboring  farmer  at  fourpence 
(eight  cen4;s)  per  day  to  scare  birds  from  the  growing  crops. 
He  was  apt  at  work,  and  soon  made  himself  useful  at  other 
and  more  importan-t  labor.  His  good  mother  died  while 
he  was  still  a  youth,  and  his  father  ere  long  became  inca- 
pable of  hard  labor.     By  dint  of  great  exertions  only  was 

*The  Beehive  'Labor  Portrait  Gallery,"  London.  1874. 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  281 

the  little  freehold  preserved  intact.  Early  in  his  life,  Mr. 
Arch  married  the  daughter  of  a  village  mechajiic,  herself 
employed  as  a  domestic  servant  in  the  houses  of  the  neigh- 
boring gently.  As  English  peasant  life  goes,  it  was  a  good 
match  for  Mr.  Arch,  and  as  events  have  proved  it  was  the 
most  fortunate  incident  in  his  life.  Mrs.  Arch  is  evidently 
a  Vv'oman  of  superior  intelligence,  spirit  and  ambition,  and 
she  was  not  content  that  her  husband,  in  whom  from  the 
outset  she  recognized  capacity  beyond  his  class,  should 
merely  vegetate  as  a  farm  laborer.  For  some  years  his 
wages  were  but  nine  shillings  or  about  $2.25  per  week,  out 
of  which  fiv'e  persons  were  to  be  cared  for — himself,  wife, 
two  children,  son  and  daughter,  and  the  decrepit  father, 
"  whose  claim  on  the  scant  meal  was  never  denied.  *  * 
The  wife  of  Joseph  Arch,  however,  in  a  sense  of  womanly 
affection,  revolted  against  this,  and  told  her  husband  that 
both  of  them  must  fa-ce  the  world  and  try  if,  by  other  labor 
— by  anything,  in  fact,  that  might  turn  up — such  misery 
as  they  and  theirs  had  to  suffer,  could  be  prevented.  This 
determination  was  carried  out  by  the  husband,  and  Joseph 
re-travelled  and  worked  that  the  brood  at  home  might  be 
better  fed.  From  one  thing  to  another  Arch  got  on,  but 
not  by  any  mean-s  to  affluence.  He  read  and  studied,  and 
respected  his  fellows  too  much  to  rise  in  the  world  by 
pressing  them  down.  He  read  the  n.ewspapers  and  knew 
what  was  going  on  amongst  the  mechanics  of  the  towns. 
The  wrongs  and  the  rights  of  labor  are  tlT.e  same  in  kind 
all  over  England  ;  they  only  differ  in  degree."  *  In  these 
struggles  and   endeavors,  the  skill  of  Mr.  Arch  in  all  farni 

"  Labor  Portrait  Q^tx^," Beehive,  London,  1874. 


252  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

work,  was  his  earlier  mainstay.  He  was  noted  through  the 
Midland  and  Western  Counties  as  a  "  hedger" — at  pruning 
and  other  garden  and  farm  work,  requiring  more  knowl- 
edge and  experience  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  ordinary 
agricultural  laborer.  He  became  an  authority  among  the 
farmers,  and  was  greatly  respected  by  them  till  his  cham- 
pionship of  the  laborers'  movemen-t  provoked  an  outburst 
of  "bucolic"  wrath,  which  would,  if  it  had  dared,  have 
recked  its  first  fury  against  the  person  of  Joseph  Arch.  At 
the  present  time,  however,  he  has  very  largely  won  their 
respect,  as  he  most  certainly  has  compelled  their  attention. 
He  claims  that  in  his  efforts  to  elevate  the  laborers,  he 
must  necessarily  benefit  the  tenant  farmers,  as  a  body.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  farmers  of  England  are 
very  seldom  owners  of  the  land  they  cultivate.  Some 
remnant  of  the  freehold  tenure  still  exists  among  the 
"  statesmen"  or  "  dalesmen"  of  Cumberland  and  Northum- 
berland, while  a  few  scattered  families  of  yeomanry  are 
yet  found  through  the  Western  Counties.  The  tendency 
has  been  more  and  more  marked  for  a  century  past,  to- 
wards the  absorption  of  the  land  into  fewer  hands.  It 
would  fill  a  volume  to  enter  even  into  the  mere  outlines  of 
the  questions  properly  related  to  this  agitation.  Not  only 
are  the  farmers  as  a  class  mere  tenants  on  the  land,  but 
very  few  of  them  have  any  lease  of  their  farms,  or  any  con  • 
trol  of  them  except  at  their  landlord's  will.  This  system 
of  tenure,  so  injurious  to  enterprise  and  so  depressing  to 
the  tenants,  would  have  long  since  been  overthrown  in  any 
country  less  conservative  in  its  habits  than  England.  Cus- 
tom has  made  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  things,  a  fixity 
of  tenure  more  equitable  than  the  law  itself.     The  rights 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  283 

of  tenant  farmers  have  long  been  a  fruitful  theme  of  debate 
at  their  clubs  and  market  dinners,  and  by  politicians  seek- 
ing votes  from  among  them.  But  until  Joseph  Arch  com- 
pelled attention  to  the  condition  of  the  Agricultural  La- 
borers these  rights  had,  as  a  public  issue,  no  significance 
whatever.  Now,  men  of  this  class  have  elected  one  of  their 
own  number  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  a  Conservative 
Ministr}'  enrolls  Mr.  Clare  Read,  M.  P.  for  one  of  the 
divisions  of  Norfolk,  among  its  members,  though  in  a  sub- 
ordinate position.  Bills  to  regulate  the  tenure  of  land, 
more  or  less  tentative  in  character,  are  pending,  and  econ- 
omists like  Professor  Fawcett  discuss  the  matter  before 
great  metropolitan  constituencies.  Progress  in  this  direc- 
tion may  be  traced  directly  to  the  agitation  by  the  laborers, 
which  the  farmers  as  a  body,  at  first  by  threats,  often  by 
acts  of  violence,  and  always  with  bitter  denunciations  and 
harsh  actions,  have  sternly  resisted.  It  was  the  wandering 
life  of  Joseph  Arch  that  gave  him  that  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  agricultural  life  which  enables  him  to  talk  to  the 
laborers  in  a  manner  adapted  to  their  local  peculiarities, 
speech  and  mode  of  work.  This  must  always  prove  one  of 
the  most  essential  qualities  for  success  as  a  popular  leader. 
But  it  is  to  his  position  as  a  local  preacher  among  the 
Primitive  Methodists,  the  sect  to  which  he  belongs,  that 
much  of  his  deeper  power  and  insight  is  due.  *  * 
When  a  man  of  his  class  opens  his  mouth,  if  he  has  an}^- 
thing  of  true  manhood  really  in  him,  he  must  soon  make 
himself  felt,  not  simply  as  a  preacher  in  the  pulpit,  but  as 
an  utterer  of  truths  that  touch  life  on  its  practical  side,  and 
raise  questions  that  involve,  not  God's  justice  only,  but 
man's  justice  to  man  in  the  most  ordinary  concerns  of  the 


284  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

world.''*  The  speeches  of  Joseph  Arch  show  in  every 
sentence  how  his  thoughts  and  style  have  been  moulded 
by  the  strong  and  simple  Anglo-Saxon  translation  of  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  which  will  always  be^the  "  well  of 
English  undefiled"  to  every  one,  layman  or  priest,  who 
studies  and  masters  it.  Joseph  Arch's  speech  is  full  of 
scriptural  allusions,  and  his  mind  has  much  of  the  solemn 
fervor  of  the  elder  prophets.  He  is  really  an  orator,  and 
one  too,  of  no  mean  pretensions.  No  writer,  having  to 
avail  himself  largely  of  the  pen  of  others,  he  is,  when 
standing  before  "  his  people,"  a  man  gifted  with  great 
powers. 

The  present  Agricultural  Laborers'  movement  dates 
back  to  the  month  of  February,  1872,  when  Joseph  Arch, 
then  known  only  as  a  strong  and  fluent  preacher  of  the 
sect  to  which  he  belongs,  and  as  a  man  of  strong  sym- 
pathies with  the  class  to  which  he  is  allied,  was  called  to 
the  leadership.  No  movement  of  importance  among  them 
had  occurred  for  about  thirty  years,  when  the  leaders  of  a 
Laborers'  Union  in  Dorsetshire  were  tried  under  the  unjust 
combination  laws  of  that  day  and  sentenced  to  several  years 
penal  transportation.  The  sentence  was  actually  carried 
out,  and  the  men  served  several  years  as  convicts,  and 
were  finally  pardoned  and  returned.  Two  of  them  are 
now  living,  and  received  quite  an  ovation  at  a  mass  meet- 
ing called  for  the  purpose.  During  the  Anti  Corn  Law 
League  Agitation,  meetings  were  held  at  which  farm  labor- 
ers participated.  One  of  the  most  memorable  of  these 
was  held  on  Salisbury  Plain — the  point  of  meeting  being 

*  Beehive  "  Labor  Portrait  Gallery." 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  2 85 

among  the  Druidical  remains  of  Stonehenge.  The  time 
was  night,  and  all  I^ngland  shuddered  at  the  woe  and 
misery  the  speeches  conveyed.  Men  of  middle-age,  gaunt, 
grim,  stalwart,  told  of  their  constant  pinching, — how  they 
and  their  children  suffered  from  hunger, — and  recited  the 
fact  that  few  of  them  were  able  to  procure  meat  from  one 
year's  end  to  the  other,  with  other  facts  not  very  gratifying 
to  English  pride.  The  Corn  Laws  were  repealed  soon 
after,  and  these  significant  meetings  undoubtedly  has- 
tened that  event.  When  this  dumb  giant  does  move 
under  the  English  Etna,  there  are  few  statesmen  hardy 
enough  not  to  heed  the  sign.  Since  that  event  the  agri- 
cultural laborer  had  remained  silent  in  sullen  acquiescence, 
until  some  of  them  at  the  village  of  Wellesbourne,  near  the 
fashionable  summer  resort  of  Leamington,  Warwickshire, 
asked  Joseph  Arch  to  address  them  in  the  open  air  under 
the  limbs  of  a  great  chestnut  tree  v.'hich  spreads  its  branch- 
es over  the  common.  Previous  to  this  date,  however,  an 
effort  at  organizing  a  Union  had  been  commenced  in  Lin- 
colnshire. A  great  strike  had  been  in  progress  at  New- 
castle, in  the  iron  works,  and  discussion  over  this  was  the 
moving  cause  of  the  Lincolnshire  attempt.  The  first  meet- 
ing was  held  January  7th,  1873,  and  thereat,  the  following 
resolves  were  adopted  : — 

"(i.)  That  the  agricultural  laborers  of  England  form  themselves 
into  a  Union,  having  for  its  object  the  social  redemption  of  the  agri- 
cultural laborers  of  England  generally. 

(2.)  That  this  meeting  shall  select  from  their  number  twelve  of 
the  most  intelligent  members  to  form  a  committee,  a  president,  and  a 
secretary. 

{3.)     That  no  member  should  strike  work  or  ask  his  employer  for 


286  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

a  rise  of  wages,  but  should  continue  liis  employment  tlie  same  as  be- 
fore. 

(4.)  That  the  Secretary  and  each  member  should  do  his  utmost 
to  augment  the  Union  all  over  the  country. 

(5.)  That  this  meeting  assemble  every  fortnight  to  give  in  a  verbal 
report  of  its  proceedings  and  success. 

(6.)  That  a  meeting  be  held  at  the  most  central  to\vn  of  the  coun- 
ty, on  the  first  Monday  in  April,  at  which  meeting  each  member  shall 
pay  IS.  entrance  fee  and  2d.  per  week  subscription  from  this  date. 

(7.)  All  members  to  attend.  A  president,  vice-president,  execu- 
tive committee,  trustees,  treasurer,  and  secretary,  to  be  elected  for  the 
next  six  months ;  the  result  of  this  meeting  only  to  be  made  public, 
and  not  those  held  previous. 

(8.)  That  propositions  be  prepared  and  brought  for^vard  at  this 
quarterly  meeting,  calculated  to  regulate  the  Union  for  the  future." 

Strikes  were,  it  will  be  seen,  forbidden,  nor  did  the 
movers  intend  to  make  any  public  demonstrations.  The 
fact  however  of  the  organization  was  published  in  a  Lon- 
don paper,  and  Joseph  Arch  had  his  attention  called  to  it 
by  his  neighbors. 

The  meeting  at  Wellesbourne  was  held.  Mr.  Vincent, 
Editor  of  The  Laborers'  Union  Chronicle,  who  then  pub- 
lished and  edited  a  local  paper  at  Leamington,  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  impression  made  by  that  meeting, 
and  the  result  that  followed  so  rapidly  on  its  heels  : 

"  Early  in  the  month  of  February,  1872,  an  old  man 
(Called  at  our  newspaper  office  in  Leamington,  and  asked 
us  to  send  a  reporter  to  Wellesbourne,  to  a  meeting  of  ag- 
ricultural laborers  which  was  going  to  be  held  under  the 
now  famous  chestnut  tree,  at  which  Joseph  Arch,  of  Bar- 
ford,  would  make  a  speech.  We  accordingly  sent  a  re- 
porter, who  was  astonished  to  find  nearly  2000  people 
assembled.     H»e  was  still  more   surprised  at  the  speech 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  287 

made  by  Mr.  Arch  ;  and  on  reading  the  report  of  that 
meeting,  we  felt  tliat  in  this  man's  impassioned  yet  thought- 
ful utterances  there  was  a  lever  which  would  bring  about 
a  great  moral  and  intellectual  awakening  among  the  down- 
trodden peasantry  of  England — a  class  hitherto  supposed 
to  be  in  such  a  hopelessly  dormant  state  that  the  general 
progress  of  our  country  could  scarcely  affect  it.  That 
meeting  at  Wellesbourne  was  followed  by  similar  gather- 
ings in  other  Warwickshire  villages,  at  each  of  which  Jo- 
seph Arch,  whom  they  had  already  enthusiastically  ac- 
cepted as  their  leader,  spoke  with  unwearying  eloquence 
and  manly  force  the  same  deeply  earnest  words  of  encour- 
agement and  hopefulness  for  their  future  welfare.  After 
some  few  weeks,  during  which  we  continued  to  report  these 
gatherings  in  our  local  paper,  the  movement  began  to  at- 
tract wider  notice ;  it  was  everywhere  hailed  with  surprise 
and  satisfaction,  and  soon  became  the  subject  of  comment 
and  illustration  by  all  the  leading  journals  of  the  country. 
The  movement  in  Warwickshire  began  early  in  February^ 
and  on  the  following  Good  Friday  a  monster  meeting  was 
held  in  one  of  the  public  halls  of  Leamington  to  inaugu- 
rate the  establishment  of  a  Union  of  agricultural  laborers 
for  this  county.  That  gathering  can  never  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  witnessed  it.  Crowds  of  laborers  with  their 
wives  and  little  ones,  often  headed  by  the  village  drum  and 
fife  band,  streamed  into  the  fashionable  spa  ;  and  the  large 
hall  of  meeting  could  barely  hoJd  a  third  of  the  number 
of  persons  assembled.  We  may  mention  the  kind  encour- 
agement and  assistance  rendered  in  the  early  progress  of 
the  movement  by  the  Hon.  Auberon  Herbert  and  Mr.  E. 
Jenkins,  M.  P. ;  and  at  the  meeting  on  Good  Frida.y,  these 


265  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

gentlemen,  together  with  Mr.  Jesse  CoUings  and  Dr.  Lang 
ford  of  Birmingham,  were  among  the  principal  speakers. 
From  that  day,  the  Laborers'  Union  in  Warv/ickshire  be- 
came an  accomplished  fact.  The  effort  made  to  suppress 
it  on  the  part  of  landlords  and  farmers  at  Wellesbourne 
had  been  successfully  resisted  ;  public  subscriptions  in 
furtherance  of  the  movement  had  been  received  to  a  large 
amount,  the  editor  of  this  paper  alone  receiving  about 
^400,  including  the  handsome  donation  of  ;^ioo  (an- 
nounced amidst  enthusiastic  cheering  at  the  Good  Friday 
meeting)  through  Mr.  Dixon,  M.  P.,  by  a  laborers'  friend 
at  Birmingham,  accompanied  by  a  brief  note,  which  at 
once  became  the  battle-cry  of  the  movement :  "  The  right 
to  form  the  Union  must  be  fought  for  to  the  death  1"  The 
laborers  who  had  assembled  on  that  memorable  Good  Fri- 
day evening,  returned  to  their  homes,  many  to  the  most 
distant  villages  of  Warwickshire,  with  the  firm  conviction 
that  they  had  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  a  great  move- 
ment for  their  elevation.  For  in  very  truth,  the  dry  bones 
had  begun  to  move,  and  the  dumb  mouths  to  speak."* 

The  next  step  was  the  publication  by  Mr.  Vincent  of 
the  paper  which  he  has  smce  conducted,  and  of  which  it 
may  be  truthfully  said,  that  no  abler,  wiser,  or  bolder  labor 
organ  has  been  or  is  now  issued.  That  paper  published  a 
call  for  a  National  Congress  which  was  held  in  May,  1872. 
In  the  meanwhile,  the  fierce  opposition  of  the  farmers  had 
reacted  vigorously  in  favor  of  the  laborers.  The  weak 
and  unmanly  suggestion  made  in  a  public  speech  by  the 
Bishop  of    Manchester,  advising  farm  employees  to  put 


*  Laborers^  Union  Chronicle,  June  5,  1S75. 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  289 

the  Union  organizers  into  the  nearest  horse  ponds,  had 
the  effect  of  arousing  the  nonconforming  hostility  to 
the  establishment,  and  of  adding  largely  to  the  public 
sympathy.  Many  of  the  landed  gentry  joined  with  the 
farmers  in  their  opposition  to  the  movement.  The  unpaid 
magistracy  swelled  the  chorus  with  stupid  acts  of  injus- 
tice by  imprisoning  women  and  children  who  had  hooted 
some  men  who  were  at  work  on  the  highways,  while  others 
were  on  strike.  The  radical  party,  through  its  leading 
men,  at  once  made  the  laborers'  cause  its  own.  The  Prim- 
itive Methodist  ministry  was  made  use  of  to  circulate  the 
call.  The  Chronicle  says  :  *  *  *  "  We  immediately  is- 
sued two  circulars,  one  addressed  to  every  minister  on  the 
minute  book  of  the  denomination  requesting  him  to  put 
the  other  (which  announced  the  Conference)  into  the 
hands  of  the  most  intelligent  laborer  in  his  district,  and 
urge  him  to  call  a  meeting  of  his  fellows,  and  send  a  dele- 
gate to  Leamington.  We  now  began  to  prepare  our  pro- 
gramme, and  to  look  info  the  causes  of  tlie  degraded  posi- 
tion of  the  laborer,  and  to  consider  what  was  required  to 
assist  him  in  the  work  of  self-emancipation.  With  this 
view,  we  communicated  with  several  well-known  gentlemen, 
inviting  them  to  contribute  papers  to  the  Conference,  the 
same  to  form  the  basis  of  the  future  work  of  the  National 
Agricultural  Laborers'  Union  ;  the  result  being  that  the 
following  subjects  were  most  ably  treated  upon  :  The  land 
laws,  by  the  Hon.  Auberon  Herbert,  M.  P. ;  Garden  and 
meadow  allotments,  by  Sir  Baldwin  Leighton,  Bart,  (a 
Conservative  landlord,  by  the  way)  ;  Education,  by  Mr. 
Jesse  CoUings  ;  Co-operative  farming,  by  the  Hon.  and 
Rev.  J.  W.  Leigh ;  The  reclamation  of  waste  lands,  by 
13  19 


290  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mr.  H.  Brookes  ;  Co-operative  stores,  by  Mr.  Butcher,  of 
Banbury ;  Village  clubs  and  reading  rooms,  by  the  Rev. 
H.  Solly,  etc.,  etc.'' 

This  programme  was  in  reality  too  ambitious,  and  the 
work  to  be  done  was  more  immediate  and  practical. 
Though  the  Laborers'  Association  is  by  no  means  a  mere 
Trades'  Union,  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  that  term,  it 
had  a  great  deal  of  similar  work  to  do.  To  organize  emi- 
gration was  among  the  earliest  aims.  Much  work  was  and 
is  being  done  in  that  direction. 

The  work  performed  by  Joseph  Arch  in  travelling  and 
speaking  since  that  first  meeting  in  February,  1872,  has 
simply  been  prodigious  in  its  extent.  Up  to  the  pres- 
ent date  he  has  almost  constantly  spoken  eight  or  ten  times 
each  week,  at  points  far  apart,  and  requiring  a  large 
amount  of  travelling  in  order  to  reach  them.  The  only 
exceptions  to  this  active  agitation,  was  during  his  travels 
in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  in  the  winter  of  1873-4, 
when,  it  will  be  remembered,  he  spoke  in  several  American 
cities,  the  most  notable  demonstration  being  that  held  in 
Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  in  which  Wendell  Phillips  and  Gen.  B. 
F.  Butler  participated.  This  journey  was  undertaken  for 
the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  organization  of  their  emi- 
gration movement,  and  was  by  previous  understanding, 
confined  chiefly  to  Canada.  Mr.  Arch  has  several  times 
stated  since,  that  he  intended  to  re-visit  and  travel  more 
fully  through  the  United  States,  especially  the  western 
and  southern  portions. 

In  the  spring  of  1874,  the  farmers  of  Norfolk,  one  of 
the  eastern  counties,  inaugurated  a  general  lockout,  which 
in  its  consequences  embraced  some   15,000  laborers.     It 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  291 

resulted  in  an  apparent  victory  to  the  employers,  but  in 
the  end,  the  laborers  have  secured  a  large  advance  of 
wages.  It  continued  for  many  weeks,  and  large  contribu- 
tions were  made  to  support  the  men  locked  out,  not  by 
Trades'  Unionists  only,  but  by  the  liberals  everywhere. 
Public  meetings  were  held  in  all  the  large  cities,  at  all  of 
which  Mr.  x\rch  spoke.  Mass  meetings  were  held  gener- 
ally out  of  doors,  among  the  laborers,  and  especially  in 
the  lock-out  district.  Mr.  Arch  was  supported  by  men 
from  the  ranks,  young  and  old,  who  have  since  developed 
much  talent.  The  movement  assumed  something  of  the 
fervor  and  excitement  of  a  religious  crusade.  It  went 
deeper  and  spread  broader  than  a  mere  question  of  wages. 
The  enclosures  of  common  land,  the  relations  of  the  state 
church  to  the  people,  the  quality  of  the  unpaid  magistracy, 
the  want  of  and  demand  for  education,  the  tenure  of  the 
land,  the  feudal  character  of  the  law  of  entail,  and  the 
exclusion  of  the  peasant  from  the  franchise,  were  among 
the  most  prominent  topics.  But  the  thoroughness  with 
which  the  branch  Unions  inquired  into  and  made  pub- 
lic the  facts  relating  to  the  wages  paid,  the  condition 
of  cottages  inhabited,  the  spirit  displayed  towards  their 
movement,  etc.,  by  the  leading  public  men  and  proprietors, 
had  a  more  direct  effect  on  the  sentiment  of  their  followers 
than  all  else.  When  they  were  told  that  the  wages  paid  on 
the  estates  of  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  did  not 
exceed  fourteen  shillings  (about  $3.40)  per  week,  and  that 
this  sum  had  been  obtained  only  after  persistent  agitation 
in  the  neighborhood,  it  sensibly  affected  their  loyalty,  es- 
pecially when  it  has  been  accompanied  by  very  plain 
speaking  and  writing  with  regard  to  the  cost  and  wealth  of 


292  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

royalty,  and  the  wasteful  extravagance  attributed  to  the 
heir  apparent. 

Mr.  Arch  himself,  has  shown  in  his  speeches  the  same 
^owth  that  has  marked  his  followers'  progress,  but  with 
him  it  has  been  accompanied  by  that  deep  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility which  necessarily  precludes  passionate  expres- 
sion or  any  tendency  towards  inflaming  the  minds  of  those 
who  trust  him.  He  has  quite  skilfully  led  them  and  their 
movement  from  one  of  personal-  amelioration  to  demands 
for  reforms  in  legislation  and  legal  position,  which  it  must 
be  evident  will  more  permanently  advance  their  interests. 
His  speeches  are  notable  for  this  sagacious  comprehensive- 
ness. In  one,  delivered  May  13,  1875,  in  Norfolk,  refer- 
ring t©  previous  reforms,  he  said  : — 

"  That  he  believed  the  formation  of  the  National  Agricultural 
Union  was  one  of  these  great  reforms,  and  that  in  after  years  it  would 
be  seen  to  have  saved  the  Protestantism  of  the  country  from  putrefac- 
tion, to  have  saved  the  Government  from  going  into  excess,  and  to 
have  saved  agriculture  from  a  landlord  monopoly,  which  would,  if  not 
stopped,  have  laid  the  tenant  farmers  upon  their  backs.  He  asked 
whether  it  was  right  to  offer  opposition  to  such  a  movement — a 
movement  which  has  for  its  end  such  noble  aims  and  objects,  and  also 
a  nation-saving  design.  He  said  'nation-saving  design,'  because  he 
felt  satisfied  that  if  the  laborers  had  not  moved  in  the  matter,  the  ten- 
ant farmers  would  have  been  wrecked  on  the  rocks  of  their  own  crea- 
tion. Show  him  a  country  where  agriculture  is  prosperous,  then  he 
would  say  that  that  country  was  safe ;  but  show  him  a  country  where 
her  laborers  were  becoming  scarcer  and  scarcer,  and  where  her  bone 
and  sinew  were  fast  on  their  way  to  ruin,  then  he  must  say  that  that 
country  was  not  safe.  He  claimed  for  this  Union  that  it  had  been  set 
on  foot  both  for  the  benefit  of  the  employer  and  the  emploj-ed,  and  he 
was  surprised  to  find  that  the  tenant  farmers  were  opposed  to  the 
movement 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  293 

"  He  wanted  that  a  privilege  that  was  extended  to  one  part  of  Her 
Majesty's  subjects  should  be  extended  to  all.  The  aim  of  the  nobility 
and  clergy  liad  always  been  to  keep  the  working-men  of  the  country 
— the  laborers — ignorant,  and  they  said  that  this  question  was  a  social 
one.  They  had  lost  the  sympathy  of  a  great  many  of  the  clergy,  be- 
cause they  dared  attend  public  meetings  and  sign  petitions ;  but  he 
thought  they  could  well  dispense  with  the  sympathy  of  the  clergy,  and 
they  were  determined  to  have  their  rights.  Whether  he  wore  a  broad- 
cloth coat  or  a  smock  frock,  he  claimed  for  them  both  an  equal  right, 
and  that  the  one  as  well  as  the  other  could  say,  '  I  am  a  man ; '  and 
as  men  they  could  claim  the  rights  of  men.  They  ought  to  say  that, 
while  they  were  called  upon  to  pay  taxes,  they  ought  to  have  a  voice, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  say  how  those  taxes  were  to  be  spent,  and  they 
ought  also  to  have  a  voice  in  the  making  of  the  laws  which  they  had 
to  obey,  by  sending  men  to  Parliament  who  they  thought  would  pro- 
tect their  interest. 

Until  the  tenant  farmers  had  got  a  fair  sprinkling  of  their  class 
into  the  House  of  Commons,  their  wrongs  would  not  be  redressed.  It 
would  seem  rather  strange  to  my  Lords  and  the  Squires,  if  one  morn- 
ing they  found  that  the  agricultural  laborers  had  got  enfranchised. 
Why,  it  would  make  them  as  wild  as  March  hares  to  think  that  the 
wild  agitator.  Arch,  had  been  there  and  done  all  this ;  but  it  was  going 
to  be  done,  and  that  speedily.  There  was  not  the  slightest  mistake 
about  that.  They  never  could  expect  justice  from  the  landlords.  The 
laborers  of  1872  were  not  the  laborers  of  to-day,  for  they  grew  more 
intelligent,  more  thoughtful  and  earnest  about  their  own  interests  every 
week,  and  whereas  some  weeks  ago  they  dared  not  to  walk  erect  nor 
call  their  soul  their  own,  now  they  walked  erect,  and  were  as  intelli- 
gent  as  many  of  the  farmers.  And  as  this  intelligence  grew,  so  must 
they  sell  their  labor  at  the  best  advantage,  and  if  they  could  not  get 
sufficient  for  it  here,  they  must  go  somewhere  else  where  they 
could."* 

Mr.  Arch  has  from  the  outset  of  the  agitation  been  a 


Report  of  the  Laborers'  Chronicle,  May,  1875. 


294  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

strenuous  advocate  of  emigration.     In  a  speech  made  soon 
after  returning  from  his  Canadian  journey,  he  said  : — 

"  In  packing  up  and  going  to  the  Colonies  the  laboring  man  must 
not  suppose  that  he  is  going  to  pick  up  dollars  in  the  street  or  was 
going  to  wring  a  large  fortune  out  of  other  people.  *  *  If  he  in- 
tended to  go  to  the  Colonies,  he  must  really  mean  to  work,  and  to  any 
industrious  man  who  really  meant  manfully  to  work,  the  Colonies  of- 
fered splendid  advantages. 

They  had  500  emigrants'  letters  at  the  League  office,  but  not  pub- 
lished. Throughout  the  whole  of  this  country  these  letters  are  being 
sent,  silently  doing  the  work  of  emigration  agents.  ~  *  *  He  had  re- 
ceived passes  to  travel  over  six  States  of  America.  Who  was  it  that 
was  sending  for  him  ?  Not  the  Government,  but  the  farmers  of  Ame- 
rica who  all  wished  him  to  go  amongst  them,  and  report  as  he  had 
done  of  Canada.  Could  any  one  assert  that  his  report  of  Canada  was 
not  a  true  one  !  No  one  could,  and  as  he  had  truthfully  reported  of 
Canada  so  would  he  of  America." 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  Union  funds  have  been 
used  to  aid  the  emigration  movement,  and  the  EngHsh 
Colonial  Agents  have  strenuously  taken  advantage  of  the 
interest  aroused.  Another  policy  pursued  by  the  Labor- 
ers Union,  and  of  which  Mr.  Arch  was  the  mover,  is  that 
of  an  exchange  of  labor  information,  so  that  men  may 
learn  where  employment  is  scarce  or  abundant,  the  wages 
paid,  and  other  conditions.  The  constant  drain  which  has 
been  going  on  from  the  country  to  the  towns,  from  England 
to  the  Colonies  and  elsewhere,  and  to  the  demand  for  the 
sturdier  laborers,  on  railroads  and  other  public  works,  has 
had  a  perceptible  effect  on  the  laborers'  movement,  by  les- 
sening competition.  It  appears  by  the  last  British  census 
that  "  returns  of  farm  laborers  fell  off  in  England  and  Wales 
from  958,000  in  1861,  to  798,000  in  187 1,  or  nearly  17  per 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  295 

cent.:  and  in  Scotland,  from  105,000  in  1861,  to  93,000  in 
187 1,  or  nearly  12  per  cent.  Indoor  farm  servants,  of 
whom  about  five-sixths  are  males,  and  many  of  whom  prob- 
ably are  out  of  door  laborers  living  in  farm  houses,  num- 
bered in  England  and  Wales,  205,000  in  186 1  and  159,000 
in  187 1,  showing  a  decrease  at  the  rate  of  22  per  cent. 
The  large  and  increasing  preponderance  of  the  town  over 
the  country  population  in  England  and  Wales,  which  was 
in  the  proportion  of  62  to  38  per  cent,  in  186 1,  points  to 
the  probability  of  a  continued  decrease." 

The  Union  itself,  has  not,  of  course,  maintained  the 
strength  with  which  it  started.  The  popular  excitement 
at  the  time  rapidly  filled  its  ranks,  but  when  it  was  evident 
that  a  long  up-hill  fight  was  before  the  organization,  the 
membership  fell  off.  Three  annual  congresses  have  been 
held,  the  last  one  at  Birmingham,  early  in  June,  being 
largely  attended.  Moncure  D.  Conway,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Cincifinati  Commercial,  wrote  at  the  time  that  the 
laborers  had  "  made  a  decidedly  good  impression  on  the 
countr}^  They  were  able  to  point  to  wages  substantially 
increased  and  hours  of  toil  shortened  by  their  movement  : 
but  better  than  either  of  these  were  the  evidences  given  by 
the  delegates  to  an  awakened  spirit  of  independence  and 
intelligence  throughout  the  nation  in  a  class  which,  in  all 
popular  movements,  had  hitherto  been  counted  out  as  ab- 
ject serfs.  It  will  be  impossible  to  prevent  the  enfran- 
chisement of  these  men  very  long." 

The  report  made  at  the  Birmingham  Congress  shows 
the  condition  of  the  Union  to  be  as  follows  : — In  the  finan- 
cial year  of  1874  the  number  of  members  was  computed  at 
86,000  in  37  districts  and  1,480  branches,  which  was  an  in- 


296  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

crease  on  the  year  1873  of  14,000  members.  The  number 
of  members  to  the  end  of  April,  1875,  was  58,652  in  38 
districts,  with  1,368  branches.  The  total  income  from  the 
branches  to  the  districts  in  1874  was  ;^2 1,000  ;  the  amount 
in  1875  being  £2t„o2,6,  showing  a  greater  return  of  contri- 
butions notwithstanding  a  decrease  in  numbers.  The 
amount  paid  away  for  relief  in  cases  of  lock-outs  and  strikes 
in  1874  was  ;^7,5oo.  During  1875,  on  account  of  the 
great  Eastern  Counties'  lock-out,  it  has  reached  the  amount 
of  ^21,365.  The  amount  paid  away  for  migration  was 
;^2,63o,  and  for  emigration  ;^3,367.  Upwards  of  1,600 
adults  have  been  assisted  to  New  Zealand  by  free  passages. 
3,407  have  also  been  sent  to  Ontario,  Canada,  and  a  con- 
siderable number  have  also  gone  to  Queensland.  In  ex- 
cess of  the  members'  ordinary  contributions,  there  was 
collected  the  sum  of  £s-,S9S  ^^  support  of  the  lock-out,  and 
contributions  from  the  Trades'  Unions,  &c.,  and  the  gen- 
eral public  amount  to  ;^2 1,613.  The  law  expenses  of  the 
Union  (including  a  libel  suit  against  the  editor  of  the 
Laborers'  Chronicle^  the  liabilities  of  which  the  Union  dis- 
charged), were  £,(y<^^.  The  entire  cost  of  management, 
including  lecturers,  delegates,  secretaries,  and  officers, 
amounts  to  ;^i 0,763.  Cash  on  hand  in  1874  was  ;^2, 148  : 
in  1875  it  was  ;/^4,2oo.* 

A  sharp  dispute  now  prevails  in  the  organization, 
which,  while  it  may  affect  the  original  Union,  will  not  in- 
jure the  general  movement.  It  grows  out  of  a  difficulty 
between  the  editor  of  the  Laborers'  Chronicle  and  the  Gen- 


*  Condensed  from  the  report  of  the  Laborers''  Chronicle,  May  29th, 
and  June  5th,  1875. 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  297 

eral  Secretary  of  the  Union.  The  former  has  insisted  that 
the  effort  was  much  more  than  a  Trades'  Union  one,  and 
that  there  must  be  a  vigorous  seeking  after  social  advance- 
ment ;  that  it  was  more  desirable  to  organize  for  the  con- 
trol of  land  at  home,  than  to  remove  labor  abroad. 
Accusations  of  loose  management  by  the  executive  officers, 
which,  however,  especially  exclude  Mr.  Arch,  have  also 
been  made.  One  result  is  the  establishment  of  an  ofificial 
organ  of  the  Union,  and  the  organization  by  Mr.  Vincent 
of  another  Union,  embracing  beneficial  and  co-operative 
objects.  Mr.  Arch  appears  to  preserve  the  friendship  of 
both  sides.  The  Chronicle^  speaking  of  him,  said  some 
time  since  : — 

•'This  man  in  every  way  commands  our  warmest  ad- 
miration. *  *  *  *  It  Js  truly  no  insignificant  fact 
that  Joseph  Arch  is  able  to  make  himself  understood  by  a 
simple-minded  and  reputed  ignorant  peasantry,  as  probably 
no  man  was  ever  able  before  to  make  himself  understood 
who  spoke  the  same  great  truths  which  this  man  speaks, 
and  sustained  the  same  wide  bearing  and  statesmanlike 
argument  which  this  man  often  sustains.  The  Earl  of 
Kimberley,  who,  the  other  day,  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
lamented  his  inability  to  explain  to  an  agricultural  laborer 
the  nature  and  operation  of  the  rural  Education  Act,  might 
well  take  a  lesson  in  the  school  of  Joseph  Arch  and  learn 
of  him  how  to  meet  his  fellow  man  face  to  face,  and  estab- 
lish an  interchange  of  thought  with  him.  The  secret  of 
Joseph  Arch's  success  is  that  he  is,  in  truth  and  reality, 
still  one  of  them,  and  not  an  outsider — a  stranger,  whose 
mode  of  thought,  and  language,  and  manners  are  not  as 
theirs. 


298  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

"  It  is  education,  and  such  unpurchaseable  educational 
influences  as  those  which  Joseph  Arch  is  now  exerting 
amongst  the  laborers  of  England,  by  which  such  beneficent 
results  must  be  achieved  ;  an  educational  influence  based 
on  unquestionable  love,  and  warmest  good  will  and  solic- 
itude towards  his  fellow  men  ;  an  influence  which  makes 
itself  understood  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  because 
it  is  a  great  active  force  which,  being  present,  cannot  help 
but  make  itself  felt.  Witness  the  hearty  brotherly  greet- 
ings which  Joseph  Arch  receives  when  he  presents  himself 
before  an  assemblage  of  laborers  in  any  part  of  England ; 
see  the  smiles  and  almost  frantic  joy  of  the  women,  the  warm 
pressing  of  hands  and  exclamations  of  grateful  delight,  as 
in  the  presence  of  a  genuine  hero  and  deliverer  of  a  people 
from  poverty  and  oppression." 

"Joseph  Arch  is  a  true  priest  among  his  people — he 
still  preaches  voluntarily,  and  without  fee  or  reward,  two 
or  three  times  on  Sundays,  in  addition  to  his  arduous 
work  of  the  week  ;  and  when  he  meets  them  on  these  oc- 
casions it  may  be  truly  said  that 

'  His  ready  smiles  a  parent's  warmth  express, 
Their  welfare  pleases  and  their  cares  distress.' 

"  It  is  impossible  for  any  unprejudiced  mind,  whether' 
it  be  animated  with  a  lively  faith  in  the  progress  of  human- 
ity or  not,  to  listen  to  Joseph  Arch,  as  we  were  privileged 
to  listen  to  him  *  *  *  while  addressing  an 
assemblage  of  agricultural  laborers,  without  being  deeply 
impressed  not  only  with  his  evident  sincerity,  his  noble 
and  generous  sentiments,  his  strong,  practical  good  sense, 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  299 

his  intense  love  of  freedom,  and  passionate  hatred  of  op- 
pression and  meanness  ; — to  see  the  sympathetic  yet  firm 
and  uncompromising  manner  in  which  he  admonishes  and 
reproves  the  shortcomings  of  the  class  to  which  he  belongs 
— the  unaffected  and  manly  pride  with  which  he  asserts 
and  maintains  the  dignity  of  that  class,  and  the  clear 
sighted,  yet  simple  and  genuine  spirit  of  brotherhood  and 
loyal  association  with  which  he  preserves  his  identity  with 
it — the  singleness  and  directnesss  of  purpose — the  purity 
and  exaltation  of  motive — the  calm  and  equal  manner  with 
which  he  bears  himself  towards  rich  and  poor  alike — all 
these,  and  many  more  fine  shades  of  character  which  we 
have  not  ventured  to  particularise,  point  to  Joseph  Arch 
not  merely  as  one  of  the  best  talking  and  most  talked  of 
inen  of  his  time,  but  as  one  chosen  in  the  providence  of 
God  to  do  a  great  work  for  humanity — to  effect  lasting 
and  powerful  results  for  good  among  the  people  with 
which  he  is  especially  identified,  and  to  establish  in  Eng- 
land such  a  noble,  self-dependent,  moral,  and  intelligent 
peasant  class  as  that  in  praise  of  which  Burns,  the  plough- 
man poet  of  Scotland,  breathed  in  prayerful  melody  his 
ardent  patriotic  soul,  and  on  the  existence  and  the  native 
liberty-loving  spirit  of  which  Englishmen  are  largely  de- 
pendant for  their  permanent  continuance." 

In  the  meanwhile  the  plain  speaking  and  the  agitation 
goes  forward.  Pages^  of  extracts  might  be  given  to  show 
how  plain  the  speeches  and  how  vigorous  the  agitation. 
Mr.  Arch  at  Hungerford,  Berkshire,  illustrated  both  when, 
speaking  of  the  House  of  Commons,  he  declared  it  to  be 
a  great  "Trades'  Union"  of  the  "governing  classes." 
Speaking  of   a   criticism  from   a   paper  representmg  the 


300  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

farmers,  he  said  that  had  it  "been  in  existence  when  the 
great  teacher  of  mankind  travelled  from  village  to  village 
and  town  to  town,  it  would  have  called  him  a  roving  agita- 
tor." When  the  laborers  agitation  began,  "lips  were 
sealed  "  he  said,  "  by  the  hand  of  the  oppressor  ;  we  were 
set  down  as  ignoramuses  ;  as  men  without  feeling,  to  be 
treated  as  so  many  cattle,  nay,  w-orse  than  the  cattle  the 
farmer  kept  on  his  land — (Cheers,) — and  yet  when  we  be- 
gan to  speak  the  truth  we  were  called  roving  agitators, 
demagogues,  red  republicans,  and  God  knows  what. 
(Cheers.)  I  don't  know  whether  the  statement  I  have  just 
made  may  be  questioned  ;  but  I  have  seen  the  farmer  take 
the  meat  and  give  it  to  his  dog  while  his  laborer  has  sat 
close  by  in  a  shed  without  a  mouthful  to  eat.  ('That  is 
true.')  But  the  extra  wages  are  not  all  the  Union  has  ac- 
complished. I  venture  to  assert  that  the  farm  laborers 
never  read  in  their  lives  as  they  read  now — ('  never ') — 
would  never  have  thought  so  keenly,  or  had  the  lib- 
ert}'  to  speak  so  freely  but  for  the  Union.  (Cheers.)  If 
there  was  any  gentleman  who  had  any  objection  to  raise 
let  him  raise  it  now  and  not  twit  him  to-morrow  before  his 
laborers  or  next  week  in  the  local  papers.  (Hear,  hear.) 
How  many  thousands  of  laborers  has  this  movement 
taught  to  read,  w-ho  would  have  lived  and  died  without  be- 
ing able  to  read  from  the  inspired  book  of  God ;  and 
thousands,  he  was  pleased  to  think  of  it,  were  now  able  to 
read  that  book  of  books  for  themselves.  ('That  is  true.') 
But  the  movement  in  those  counties  w^here  the  men  have 
remained  true,  has  taught  their  employers  a  little  bit  of 
good  behaviour.  (Applause,  and  a  voice  :  '  How  to  use 
their  men.')      And  after  giving  the  farmers   two  or  three 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  301 

years  more  schooling  they  might  send  round  the  subscrip- 
tion boxes  and  ask  them  to  pay  for  their  education.  (Ap- 
plause.) I  dare  say  there  are  plenty  of  laborers'  wives 
who  would  have  cheek  enough  to  be  collectors.  (Laughter.) 
There  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  brighter  future  for  the  farm 
laborer  of  England,  if  the  laborers  were  determined  it 
should  be  so.  (Cheers.)  To  shout  hurrah  merely  will 
not  make  it  bright ;  nor  will  spending  your  money  in  a 
public  house  ;  but  sober,  steady,  unflinching  perseverance, 
would  not  only  make  the  future  bright  but  prosperous. 
(Applause.)  One  of  the  bright  hopes  of  that  future  was 
the  possession  of  political  power.  This  was  a  question  a 
great  many  men  in  the  country  heartily  wished  had  never 
been  mentioned.  ('  True.')  When  I  was  first  called  out 
by  my  fellow  laborers,  and  went  from  village  to  village,  the 
clerg}'  walked  round  patting  me  on  the  back,  and  said 
'  Now,  look  here,  pray  don't  make  this  a  political  ques- 
tion, keep  it  purely  social  and  you  will  be  right.'  (Laugh- 
ter.) I  ask,  is  there  a  class  of  men  more  jealous  of  their 
political  power  than  are  the  clerg}' .''  ('  None.')  If  every 
Bishop  was  drawn  from  the  Llouse  of  Lords,  and  every 
representative  of  the  clergy  turned  out  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  they  would  kick  up  a  pretty  dust  over  it. 
(Laughter.)  If  political  power  was  good  for  the  priest,  it 
must  be  good  for  the  people ;  and  whether  they  say  yea 
or  nay,  we  think  otherwise.  (Hear.)  I  hold  that  the 
farm  laborers  of  this  country  would  not  have  been  in  the 
degraded  condition  they  are  if  the  rights  of  citizenship 
allowed  their  betters  had  been  granted  them.  These 
rights  have  allowed  our  betters  to  steal  away  our  com- 
mons, and  make  one  law  for  the  rich  and  one  law  for  the 


302  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

poor.  (Applause.)  We  are  now  rising  up  to  a  sense  of 
our  manhood,  and  are  determined  that  we  will  have  our 
rights  as  citizens.  In  the  House  of  Commons  the  laborer 
can  count  on  175  votes  in  favor  of  his  Bill ;  but  the  farmer 
can  not  lay  his  hand  on  a  single  vote  in  favor  of  the  Ten- 
ant Right  Bill.  That  Bill  got  the  dirty  kick  out.  (Laugh- 
ter.) And  what  about  the  Tenant  Right  Bill  in  the  House 
of  Lords  last  night .''  If  I  read  the  speech  of  Lord  Gran- 
ville aright  he  represented  the  Tenant  Right  Bill  to  be 
like  the  colored  bladders  that  men  sell  about  the  streets 
at  a  half-penny  apiece — very  pretty  to  the  eye,  going 
whichever  way  of  the  wind,  but  when  opened  there  is 
nothing  in  them." 

During  the  session  of  1875,  the  bill  extending  the 
franchise  to  the  agricultural  laborers,  introduced  by  Mr. 
Trevelyan  and  championed  by  all  the  advanced  liberals 
was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  268  to  166 — 102  majority 
against  it.  The  London  Times  said  next  morning  that 
they  were  "  living  in  days  when  there  is  no  political  fore- 
cast," and  intimated  quite  sharply  that  Mr.  Disraeli  was 
at  fault  in  not  acting  favorably.  John  Bright  presented  a 
petition  signed  by  60,000  laborers,  and  in  doing  so,  spoke 
with  all  of  his  old  eloquence  and  earnestness  in  its  favor. 
The  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Forster  pressed  the  passage  of  the 
Trevelyan  bill  with  all  his  skill,  and  paid  a  marked  tribute 
to  the  movement  out  of  which  the  demand  has  grown,  in 
these  words  : 

"  The  meetings  of  agricultural  laborers  show  us  a  new 
class  taking  part  in  public  affairs  with  great  moderation 
and  earnestness,  and  avowing  that  injustice  will  be  done 
them  if  a  settlement  of  the  question  is  longer  postponed  \ 


JOSEPH    ARCH.  303 

and  the  petition  presented  to-day,  signed  by  60,000  labor- 
ers, is  not  a  petition  to  be  lightly  treated.  What  do  hon. 
erable  members  wish  ?  Do  they  desire  a  repetition  of  the 
agitation  which  preceded  the  measures  of  1830  and  1867  ? 
Here  are  a  million  householders  who  have  not  votes  sim- 
ply by  reason  of  the  accident  that  they  live  outside  bor- 
oughs, some  hundreds  of  thousands  being  agricultural 
laborers,  a  class  which  we  acknowledge  to  have  claims, 
and  a  class  which  is  not  represented  in  this  House.  These 
men  have  patiently,  persistently  and  earnestly  for  years 
claimed  that  they  should  be  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  urban  householders.  Hardly  a  member  of  this  House, 
or  any  public  man  out  of  it,  or  any  writer  of  the  press, 
denies  the  justice  of  their  claim  ;  there  is,  in  fact,  no  dis- 
agreement of  opinion.  No  one  doubts  they  ought  to  be 
voters.  The  demand  made  from  these  benches  is  met  by 
the  answer — We  agree  with  you,  only  let  us  pass  it  at  our 
convenience.  It  does  not  satisfy  these  men,  nor  ought  it  : 
they  have  reasonable  ground  for  the  belief  that  because 
they  have  no  votes  their  interests  are  neglected  in  com- 
parison with  the  interests  of  those  who  have.  Is  it  not 
time  for  us  to  consider  seriously  how  long  we  can  with 
prudence  persevere  in  a  policy  which  would  be  absurd  if 
it  were  not  dangerous,  the  policy  of  excluding  a  million 
by  treating  their  claim  with  indifference,  almost  contempt- 
uous indifference,  while  we  vie  with  each  other  in  acknowl- 
edging its  justice  ?  " 

The  next  general  election  will  very  probably  see  the 
laborer  and  agitator,  Joseph  Arch,  elected  to  the  English 
Parliament,  the  peer  of  the  proudest  man  in  that  land.  His 
career  has  been  a  remarkable  one,  and  now  with  the  con- 


304  .  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

sciousness  of  large  abilities,  the  love  and  respect  not  only 
of  his  own  class,  but  of  the  people  generally,  and  in  the 
full  meridian  of  his  powers,  he  has  before  him  a  career  of 
influence  to  which  it  is  difficult  to  assign  limits. 


XYIII. 


Charles  Bradlaugh- 


IHARLES  BRADLAUGH  was  born  Septem- 
ber 26th,  1833,  at  Hoxton,  an  Eastern  suburb 
of  London.  His  father  was  a  solicitor's  clerk 
and  law  copyist.  The  son  writes  of  him  :  "  He  was  an 
extremely  industrious  man,  and  a  splendid  penman.  I 
never  had  an  opportunity  of  judging  his  tastes  or 
ihoughts,  except  in  one  respect,  in  which  I  have  followed 
in  his  footsteps.  He  was  passionately  fond  of  angling." 
Mr.  Bradlaugh's  attendance  on  school  began  at  seven  and 
was  completed  before  he  was  twelve,  when  he  was  em- 
ployed as  an  errand  boy  in  the  solicitor's  office,  where  his 
father  was  engaged.  He  left  this  office  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen and  became  wharf  clerk  and  cashier  to  a  firm  of  coal 
dealers.  Soon  after  commenced  the  life  of  agitation  which 
Mr.  Bradlaugh  has  since  pursued.  The  Chartist  movement 
was  then  at  its  height,  intensified  soon  after  by  the  revolu- 
tionary excitement  of  toppling  thrones  and  fleeing  kings, 
'f/hich  the  continental   nations   exhibited.     Meetings  were 

20 


306  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

being  constantly  held  in  the  neighborhood  of  young  Brad- 
laugh's  home.  They  were  commonly  held  in  the  open  air, 
and  generally  in  the  evening  or  on  Sundays.  Bishop 
Bouner's  field  was  the  favorite  meeting  place — then  an  open 
space  in  Eastern  London,  bearing  historical  associations 
in  its  name  to  every  English  ear,  and  close  to  a  neighbor- 
hood that  was  most  notable,  and  whose  chief  residents 
were  and  are  the  descendants  of  men  and  women  who  had 
occasion  to  remember  the  cruel  ecclesiastic  and  the  mis- 
tress he  served — the  "  Bloody  Queen"  Mary  Tudor,  whose 
career  Tennyson  has  freshly  embalmed  in  the  precious 
amber  of  his  verse.  The  neighborhood  referred  to  is  that 
of  .Spitalfields,  largely  inhabited  by  weavers  of  the  famous 
silk  known  by  that  name.  These  weavers  are  the  descend" 
ants  of  Huguenot  settlers,  who  fled  to  England  after  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes.  The  narrow  streets  in 
which  they  then  lived  and  worked  appeared  to  a  looker-on 
like  a  section  of  some  French  manufacturing  town  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  slightly  modernized,  set  down  bodily  in 
the  poorer  portion  of  London.  There  were  dingy  brick  dwell- 
ings— three  stories  in  height — the  fronts  of  which,  above  the 
ground  or  store  floors,  were  lit  by  narrow  latticed  casements 
with  leaden  frames  and  diamond  shaped  panes,  running 
clear  across  the  room-fronts,-  thus  giving  ample  light  to  the 
workers  at  the  Jacquard  looms  within.  The  principal  busi- 
ness besides  weaving  seemed  to  be  the  rearing,  buying  and 
selling  of  song  birds  and  fancy  pigeons.  Little  shops, 
musical  with  the  twitter  and  songs  of  birds,  filled  whole 
streets,  giving  space  only  to  the  necessary  butcher,  grocer, 
baker,  and  the  "  public,"  where  both  men  and  women  met 
and   discussed   the  birds,   the  flight  and  breed    of   their 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGII.  307 

pigeons,  the  wages  they  received  and  the  "  Charter  " — for 
the  weavers  were  and  are  among  the  most  ardent  politi- 
cians in  England.  On  the  roof  of  nearly  every  dwelling 
could  be  seen  the  pigeon  cots,  and  great  numbers  of  the 
beautiful  birds  were  continually  being  trained. 

Mr.  Bradlaugh,  then  an  ardent  and  studious  boy  of  fif- 
teen years,  was  far  removed  from  the  agitation  into  which 
he  so  soon  developed.  He  attended  an  Episcopal  church 
regularly  with  his  parents,  and  was,  he  says,  a  teacher  in 
the  Sunday  School  attached  thereto.  This  habit  was  how- 
ever suddenly  terminated  in  this  wise, — to  use  Mr.  Brad- 
laugh's  own  language  . — 

"  The  Bishop  of  London  was  announced  to  hold  a  con- 
firmation in  Bethnal  Green.  The  incumbent  of  St.  Peter's, 
Hackney  Road,  the  district  in  which  I  resided,  was  one 
John  Graham  Packer,  and  he,  desiring  to  make  a  good 
figure  when  the  Bishop  came,  pressed  me  to  prepare  for 
confirmation,  so  as  to  answer  any  question  the  Bishop 
might  put.  I  studied  a  little  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  the  four  Gospels,  and  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  differed.  I  ventured  to  write  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Packer  a  respectful  letter,  asking  him  for  aid 
and  explanation.  All  he  did  was  to  denounce  my  letter  to 
my  parents  as  Atheistical,  although  at  that  time  I  should 
have  shuddered  at  the  very  notion  of  becoming  an  Atheist^ 
and  he  suspended  me  for  three  months  from  my  office 
as  Sunday-school  teacher.  This  left  me  my  Sundays  free, 
for  I  did  not  like  to  go  to  church  while  suspended  from  my 
teacher's  duty,  and  I,  instead,  went  to  Bonner's  Fields,  at 
first  to  listen,  but  soon  to  take  part  in  some  of  the  discus 
sions  which  were  then  always  pending  there." 


308  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

As  a  polemist  his  first  appearance  was  on  the  side  of 
religion.  But  in  1849  he  had  become  a  "  Freethinker," 
and  a  rupture  with  his  father  occurred.  The  Vicar  insti- 
gated Mr.  Bradlaugh,  Sen.,  to  demand  the  surrender  of  his 
son's  opinions,  coupling  therewith  a  threat  of  loss  of  em- 
ployment. The  result  of  this  w^as  that  the  young  man  left 
his  home,  never  more  to  return  while  his  father  lived.  He 
began  in  earnest  the  life  of  a  lecturer,  following  in  the  day 
whatever  occupation  he  could  obtain.  During  the  previous 
year  (1848)  he  had  made  his  first  political  harangue  at  a 
large  open  air  meeting  held  one  Sunday  in  Bishop  Bonner's 
fields, — a  meeting  which  was  violently  assailed  on  break- 
ing up  by  a  body  of  armed  police  ;  and  for  speeches  at 
which  Ernest  Jones,  the  eloquent  barrister,  brilliant  writer, 
orator  and  poet,  with  one  or  two  others,  were  subsequently 
arrested  and  sent  to  Tuthills- Penitentiary  for  two  years,  on 
account  of  the  sedition  which,  it  was  charged,  they  advo- 
cated. 

Charles  Bradlaugh,  the  boy  orator,  soon  became  well 
known  in  the  circles  attracted  to  such  discussions  ;  first  as 
a  Deist,  and  later  as  an  Atheist.  At  the  same  time  he  be- 
came connected  with  the  "  Secular"  movement,  which  was 
just  then  shaping  itself.  From  the  time  of  leaving  his 
Father's  house  in  1848,  until  December,  1850,  his  position 
was  a  severe  one,  full  of  arduous  efforts  at  "  making  a 
living,"  and  of  attempts  to  obtain  the  know-ledge  to 
which  preceding  years  had  not  been  favorable.  He  wrote 
polemical  pamphlets  that  attracted  some  attention  ;  tried 
to  do  business  as  a  coal  dealer,  but  was  not  very  successful  ; 
was  very  poor  "  and  at  the  time"  he  says  "was  also  very 
proud."     He  learned  during  these  years,  he  says  himself. 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  3O9 

"  a  little  Hebrew  and  an  imperfect  smattering  of  othex" 
tongues."  However  imperfect  were  such  acquisitions  then, 
it  is  certain  they  have  been  so  dihgently  used  as  to  make 
his  scholarship  of  accurate  value  to  him  in  subsequent 
years  of  disputation.  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  mastery  of  French 
is  almost  as  complete  as  that  of  his  mother  tongue. 

An  event  occurred  at  the  time  (1850)  whose  results  have 
probably  been  quite  marked  on  his  character  and  career. 
Depressed  by  his  penury,  which  had  been  brought  home  by 
a  subscription  raised  and  offered  him  by  some  freethinking 
friends,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  in  his  nineteenth  year  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  Seventh  Dragoon  Guards.  He  remained  in 
the  service  for  three  years,  being  quartered  during  the  whole 
of  the  time  in  Ireland.  His  father  had  died  during  this 
period,  and  receiving  a  small  legacy  from  an  aunt,  Mr. 
Bradlaugh  purchased  his  discharge  and  returned  to  London- 
No  one  familiar  with  the  effects  of  military  life  can  fail  to 
detect  them  in  the  manner  of  the  lecturer  and  agitator. 
His  gestures  are  often  as  effective  a  part  of  his  orator}^  as 
are  his  words.  Those  who  have  heard  his  vivid  presenta- 
tion of  the  French  Revolution,  or  the  other  remarkable 
characterization  and  comparison  of  Cromwell  and  Wash- 
ington, both  of  which  were  delivered  in  the  United  States 
as  Lyceum  lectures  in  the  winter  of  1874-5,  will  remember 
some  of  these  gestures.  One  especially  where  he  describes 
the  unsheathing  of  the  sword  in  the  revolutionary  period 
he  portrayed,  and  during  which  he  draws  an  imaginary 
weapon,  bringing  it  apparently  into  the  air  with  the  rhyth' 
mical  movement  of  the  trained  swordsman,  must  have 
strongly  impressed  his  audiences.  Another  gesture,  which 
indicated  the  drilled  soldier,  could  be  observed  when  in 


3IO  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

describing  Cromwell,  he  pictured  some  trait  as  with  a 
rapid  dash  of  a  brush  on  canvas,  by  swiftly  throwing  his 
hand  to  the  left  hip  with  the  motion  required  in  grasping  a 
sword  hilt. 

On  returning  to  civil  life,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  obtained  em- 
plo)Tnent  as  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  a  Solicitor.  At  this 
time,  in  his  writings,  he  assumed  the  signature  of  "  Icono- 
clast." The  object  was  to  veil  his  personality;  but  he 
could  not  have  expressed  it  more  perfectly.  His  employer, 
a  Mr.  Rogers,  sturdily  refused  to  interfere  with  his  clerk's 
liberty  of  conscience  or  action,  only  requiring  that  he 
should  not  bring  polemics  into  "  chambers."  Mr.  Brad- 
laugh  thus  acquired  a  knowledge  of  common  law  and  stat- 
utory enactments  which  bear  upon  the  right  of  public  meet- 
ing, printing,  writing,  petition  and  other  conditions  affecting 
his  position  as  a  radical  agitator,  that  has  been  and  still  is 
of  the  greatest  service  to  him  in  the  part  he  plays  and  the 
place  he  strives  to  occupy.  Many  incidents  could  be  given 
of  his  successful  evasions  of  restraining  law,  and  of  the 
shrewd  devices  to  carry  his  points,  which  have  marked  his 
twenty  years  of  trenchant  discussion.  His  skill  in  this 
way  has  been  equalled  only  by  that  of  the  greatest  agitator 
that  has  lived  since  the  days  of  Peter  the  Hermit— Daniel 
O'Connell.  The  most  notable  illustration  of  this  skill  and 
the  use  he  has  put  it  to,  may  be  found  in  his  delivery  of 
the  famous  "  Impeachment  of  the  House  of  Brunswick," 
a  lecture  which  is  the  fiercest  philippic  and  severest  indict- 
ment of  the  reigning  Royal  family  of  Great  Britain,  ever 
made.  It  must  be  acknowledged  to  be  an  argument  of  re- 
markable vigor,  research  and  directness.  It  raised  a  storm 
of  fierce  indignation,  but  the  orator  held  his  way  without 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  3  I  I 

flinching,  daring  the  government  to  arraign  him,  as  was 
threatened,  for  treasonable  utterances.  His  argument  as 
to  the  legal  right  he  claimed  and  has  fully  exercised,  to 
agitate  for  the  repeal  of  the  "  Acts  of  Settlement  and 
Union,"  by  which  the  electors  of  Hanover  became  mon- 
archs  of  Britain,  can  be  best  stated  in  his  own  words  :  "  It 
is  of  course  assumed,  as  a  point  upon  which  all  supporters 
of  the  present  Royal  Family  will  agree,  that  the  right  to 
deal  with  the  throne  is  inalienably  vested  in  the  Eng- 
lish people,  to  be  exercised  by  them  through  their  rep- 
resentatives in  Parliament."  He  proceeds  to  affirm  that 
"  the  right  to  succeed  to  the  throne  is  a  right  accruing  only 
from  "  the  acts  alluded  to,  and  that  therefore  he  has  the 
same  right  to  discuss  the  advisability  of  their  repeal  as  he 
has  of  other  laws.  To  deny  this  is  to  deny  the  fundamen- 
tal right  of  control  over  the  Executive  power  which  he 
shows  is  historically  to  be  the  basis  of  the  English  system. 
Alluding  to  the  precedents,  he  says, — evidently  having  in 
mind  a  living  Heir  apparent, — "The  Convention  which 
assembled  at  Westminster  on  January  2  2d,  1688,  took  away 
the  crown  from  James  H.,  and  passed  over  his  son,  the 
then  Prince  of  Wales,  as  if  he  had  been  non-existent. 
This  convention  was  declared  to  have  all  the  authority  of 
Parliament — ergo  Parliament  has  admitted  the  right  to  de- 
prive a  living  King  of  his  crown  and  to  treat  a  Prince  of 
Wales  as  having  no  claim  to  the  succession." 

After  citing  authorities  in  support  of  his  position,  Mr, 
Bradlaugh  proceeds  to  arraign  the  Royal  House  on  eight 
counts.  He  declares  that  with  the  exception  of  the  present 
Queen,  the  policy  of  the  family  "  has  been  hostile  to  the 
welfare  of  the  mass  of  the  people."     In  support  of  this 


312  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

he  gives  a  formidable  array  of  authorities,  citing  the  per- 
sonal and  political  offences  of  which  the  history  of  England 
has  for  a  century  and  a  half  been  full.  He  charges  that 
fifteen-sixteenths  of  the  National  debt  has  been  created  in 
defence  of  a  pro-German  policy,  and  further  that  royal  incom- 
petency has  during  the  Brunswick  regime  transferred  the 
governing  power  to  a  few  powerful  families.  A  huge  pen- 
sion list  has  been  created  ;  national  expenditures  frightfully 
increased,  America  lost  to  Great  Britain,  Ireland  made 
chronically  discontented  by  bad  government,  and  the  burdens 
of  taxation  have  been  shifted  from  the  land  to  the  masses- 
He  arraigns  the  Family  as  proven  incapable,  in  that  they 
have  not  initiated  or  encouraged  wise  legislation.  The 
first  George  was  a  German,  could  not  speak  English,  des- 
pised his  new  subjects  and  cared  chiefly  for  what  he  made 
from  them.  The  second  George  cared  more  for  Hanover 
than  England,  and  desired  only  the  joint  reputation  of 
being  a  great  general  and  a  great  libertine.  The  Third 
was  often  insane,  "  and  in  his  officially  lucid  moments,  his 
sanity  was  more  dangerous  to  England  than  his  madness." 
The  Fourth  George  was  a  drunkard,  debauchee,  bad  hus- 
band, unnatural  son,  false  friend,  unfaithful  lover,  corrupt 
regent  and  worse  King.  His  successor  William,  was  nar- 
row-minded, obstinate,  bigoted,  timid,  yielding  when  "  con- 
tinued resistance  became  dangerous."  Mr.  Bradlaugh's 
argument  is  carefully  fortified  by  a  long  arrayed  list  of 
authorities  and  by  a  curious  collection  of  the  lampoon  and 
satirical  literature  of  the  periods  described. 

Another  illustration  of  his  acquaintance  with  English 
laws  and  precedents,  has  reference  to  the  allowance  made 
the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  313 

with  the  daughter  of  the  Russian  Czar.  Some  indiscreet 
radicals  called  a  meeting  in  Trafalgar  Square  to  discuss 
the  pending  measure.  The  proposed  place  of  meeting  is 
within  a  mile  of  the  Palace  of  Westminster.  It  is  forbid- 
den to  assemble  for  such  purposes  within  that  mile  of 
Parliament  while  it  is  in  session,  and  considering  the  prop- 
osition relating  to  which  the  meeting  was  to  be  called,  Mr. 
Bradlaugh  advised  his  friends  they  could  not  meet  for  such 
a  purpose,  and  then  headed  a  deputation  to  the  Home  Office, 
where  he  informed  the  Secretary  that  the  meeting  would 
be  held.  That  functionary,  in  mild  amazement  at  the  au. 
dacity  of  his  interlocutor,  repeated  the  interdict  which 
had  already  been  made  public.  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  response 
was  that  the  meeting  would  be  held  to  petition  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen  to  provide,  in  view  of  the  burdens  of 
the  people,  the  marriage  portion  of  the  Duke  from  her 
own  private  purse.  The  Secretary  still  repeated  his 
interdict,  and  Mr.  Bradlaugh  left  with  his  deputation, 
declaring  the  call  a  legal  one,  and  that  the  meeting 
would  be  held.  He  stated  also  very  plainly  that  their 
legal  right  would  be  defended  by  resistance  to  any  in- 
terference. The  meeting  was  held  and  no  interruption 
occurred.  Still  another  illustration  may  be  given  of  his 
ability.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  prevent 
the  mass  meetings  in  Hyde  Park,  which  have  been  so 
common  of  late  years,  Mr.  Ayrton,  Commissioner  in  charge 
of  Public  Works  and  Parks,  under  the  Gladstone  admin- 
istration of  1869,  brought  in  a  bill  to  effect  that  closing  of 
the  parks, — the  inability  to  do  which  under  then  existing 
legislation  had  been  clearly  shown.  The  right  of  meet- 
ing was  not  so  much  involved,  as  a  larger  principle — that 

14 


314  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  whether  or  not  the  Crown  Lands,  of  which  the  Park* 
are  part,  are  personally  seized  to  the  reigning  monarch  ; 
Mr.  Bradlaugh  and  friends  claiming  that  they  always  were 
public  property,  accessible  to  the  people  whenever  they  so 
desired.  Finding  the  bill  referred  to  was  likely  to  slip 
through,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  availed  himself  of  a  long  disused 
privilege  which  he  found  in  the  books,  and  presented 
through  Mr.  Denman,  now  a  leading  judge,  a  petition  to 
be  heard  at  the  Bar  of  the  House,  on  the  ground  that  his 
rights  and  privileges  as  a  citizen  were  to  be  invaded  by 
the  act  against  which  he  desired  to  protest.  The  petition 
was  not  granted,  but  the  Park  measure  was  not  pushed 
to  a  second  reading. 

The  religious  position  of  Mr.  Bradlaugh  has  greatly 
obscured  his  political  reputation  with  the  general  public, 
and  has  made  the  judgment  of  his  opponents  harsher 
than  it  would  otherwise  be.  In  part  his  extreme  position 
is  due  to  the  logical  directness  which  is  a  characteristic  of 
his  intellect,  but  the  truculent  and  sometimes  irreverent 
nature  of  his  advocacy  (for  he  is  no  respecter  of  persons) 
can  be  traced  more  directly  to  the  bitter  social  and  per- 
sonal ostracism  which  followed,  in  his  earlier  years,  the 
avowed  advocacy  of  skeptical  opinions.  When  to  that 
advocacy  was  added  attacks  on  existing  institutions,  es- 
pecially vigorous  ones  on  the  church,  marked  according  to 
popular  rumor  by  want  of  taste  and  bitter  assault,  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  the  winning  of  recognition  has  been 
an  arduous  task  indeed.  To  understand  fully  Mr.  Brad- 
laugh's  character,  it  must  be  also  remembered,  that  in 
earlier  manhood,  the  law  made  him  a  pariah,  refusing  his 
testimony  in  courts,  holding  him  subject  to  pains  and  pen- 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  315 

allies  as  a  "  blasphemer,"  though  this  law  has  not  been 
enforced  since  the  imprisonment  of  George  Jacob 
Holyoake,  in  1844-5,  on  such  a  charge.  Even  now  there 
are  on  the  British  statute  books  several  acts,  the  enforce- 
ment of  which  would  surely  bring  penalties  and  disa- 
bilities to  those  who  are  honestly  heretical,  or  are  openly 
known  as  "  freethinkers."  Mr.  Bradlaugh  himself,  having 
been  compelled  by  business  misfortunes  to  become  a 
bankrupt,  was  at  first  debarred  from  obtaining  the  benefit 
of  the  laws  in  such  cases  made  and  provided,  and  com- 
pelled at  a  large  cost,  to  create  public  interest  and  agita- 
tion, sufficient  to  ensure  attention  for  his  petition  to  Par- 
liament and  secure  a  repeal  of  the  disability.  It  should 
be  stated  to  his  credit  that  he  has  since,  though  not  legally 
held,  paid  every  dollar  of  the  debts  that  were  then  com- 
pounded. 

In  the  same  way  he  had  to  fight,  in  1870-71,  an  at- 
tempt to  revive  against  his  journal,  the  Natmial  Refor7ner, 
the  penalties  of  a  law  long  obsolete.  He  was  con- 
victed-and  a  fine — a  fine  whose  total  would  have  beggared 
a  millionaire — imposed  for  each  copy  published  ;  from  this 
decision  he  appealed,  being  his  own  lawyer,  and  practi- 
cally gained  a  victory  ;  the  government  breaking  down  at 
last  on  an  attempt  to  fasten  his  connection  with  a  certain 
issue  and  date.  Here  again  his  knowledge  of  law  serv^ed 
him  in  good  stead.  The  costs  however  amounted  to  about 
seven  hundred  pounds. 

But  in  all  probability,  the  animating  impulse  in  the  career 
of  Mr.  Bradlaugh  as  a  skeptical  writer  and  agitator,  has 
been  the  political  status  of  the  established  church,  mak- 
ing it  part  of  a  system  by  which  he  considers  the  people 


31  6  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

oppressed  and  plundered.  He  once  expressed  this  in  a 
remarkable  peroration  to  a  lecture  he  delivered  in  reply  to 
a  book  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  when  in  defending  him- 
self from  the  charge  of  wantonly  outraging  religious  be- 
liefs and  sentiments,  he  declared  that  such  charge  was 
false,  affirming  that  he  must  express  the  truth  as  he  under- 
stood it,  and  that  he  was  compelled  to  resist  institutions 
through  which  "  the  shadow  of  the  Prelate's  palace  rotted 
the  thatch  on  the  Peasant's  cottage." 

In  1858,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  became  the  President  of  the 
London  Secular  Society,  in  place  of  Mr.  Holyoake,  who 
was  occupied  with  his  general  labor  as  a  journalist  and  his 
special  work  on  behalf  of  co-operation.  When  the  Secu- 
larists formed  a  National  Society,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  became 
its  President,  a  position  he  still  fills.  This  remarkable 
movement  requires  some  further  reference,  in  order  to  a 
better  understanding  of  the  influences  which  sustain  its 
leader.  The  National  Association  of  "  Secularists"  in  its 
declaration  of  principles,  considers  "  the  promotion  of  Hu- 
man Improvement  and  Happiness"  to  be  "the  highest 
duty  ;  "  holds  that  current,  theological  teachings,  are  "ob- 
structive "  of  the  same  ;  that  in  order  to  effectually  pro- 
mote both,  every  individual  "ought  to  be  well  placed  and 
instructed,"  and  all  of  a  suitable  age  "ought  to  be  usefully 
employed  for  their  own  and  the  general  good  ;  "  that  civil 
and  religious  liberty  are  necessary,  and  that  therefore 
every  member  must  consider  it  a  duty  "to  actively  attack 
all  barriers  to  equal  freedom  of  thought  and  utterance  for 
all,  upon  political  and  theological  subjects."  Among  other 
objects  it  declares  the  following  programme  for  political 
agitation:     ist.  Secular  education;  2d,  Disestablishmen* 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  317 

and  disendowment  of  the  State  Church  ;  3d.  Improve- 
ment of  the  Agricultural  Laborers  condition  ;  4th.  A  change 
in  the  Land  Laws,  so  as  to  secure  for  the  laborer  an  in- 
terest in  the  soil  he  cultivates ;  5th.  Abolition  of  the 
hereditaiy  House  of  Peers  and  substitution  of  a  National 
Senate  with  life  members  ;  and  6th.  Investigation  of  the 
causes  of  poverty  in  old  countries;  plans  of  amelioration 
proposed,  with  the  laws  governing  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation and  produce,  as  well  as  the  laws  affecting  the  rise 
and  fall  of  wages. 

What  is  the  general  estimation  of  Secularism  is  thus 
stated  by  a  recent  author,  himself  a  clergyman  of  the  es- 
tablished church  and  vicar  of  Rochdale,  John  Bright's 
home.  "Secularism  is  the  study  of  promoting  human  wel- 
fare by  material  means,  measuring  human  welfare  by  the 
utilitarian  rules,  and  making  the  service  of  others  a  duty 
of  life.  Secularism  relates  to  the  present  existence  of 
man,  and  to  action  ;  the  issues  of  which  can  be  tested  by 
the  experience  of  this  life ;  having  for  its  object  the  de- 
velojDment  of  the  physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  nature 
of  man  to  the  highest  perceivable  point  as  the  immediate 
duty  of  society;  inculcating  the  practical  sufficiency  of 
natural  morality  apart  from  Atheism,  Theism,  or  Chris- 
tianity; engaging  its  adherents  in  the  promotion  of  human 
improvement  by  material  means,  and  making  these  agree- 
ments thp  ground  of  common  unity  for  all  who  would 
regulate  life  by  reason,  and  ennoble  it  by  service.  The 
secular  is  sacred  in  its  influence  on  life  ;  for  by  purity  of 
material  conditions  the  loftiest  natures  are  best  sustained, 
and  the  lower  the  m.ost  surely  elevated.  Secularism  is  a 
series  of  principles,  intended  for  the  guidance  of  those  who 


3l8  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

find  theology  indefinite,  or  inadequate,  or  deeiji  it  unre- 
liable. It  replaces  theology,  which  mainly  regards  life  as 
a  sinful  necessity,  as  a  scene  of  tribulation  through  which 
we  pass  to  a  better  world.  Secularism  rejoices  in  this  life 
and  regards  it  as  the  sphere  of  those  duties  which  edu- 
cate men  to  fitness  for  any  future  and  better  life,  should 
such  transpire.  Secularism  is  in  fact  the  religion  of  doubt. 
It  does  not  necessarily  clash  with  other  religions  ;  it  does 
not  deny  the  existence  of  God  or  even  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity :  but  it  does  not  profess  to  believe  in  either  one  or 
the  other."* 

There  are  a  considerable  number  of  local  societies, 
active  or  passive — the  organization  allowing  both  classes — 
and  an  active  and  skilful  propaganda  is  maintained,  the 
more  especially  since  Mr.  Bradlaugh  has  been  enabled 
through  its  agency  to  create  a  respectable  Republican  agi- 
tation. Most  of  the  secular  Societies  are  also  Republican 
Clubs.  Mr.  Bradlaugh  is  President  of  the  principal  one — 
that  of  London.  Its  objects  are  briefly  defined  in  the 
secular  publication  already  referred  to,  as  being  besides 
that  of  bringing  together  persons  of  the  same  opinions, 
"to  promote  (by  intellectual,  legal,  and  moral  means  only,) 
all  efforts  in  Parliament,  on  platforms,  and  in  the  Press, 
in  harmony  with  Republican  principles  ;  and  to  teach  the 
best  system  of  civil  government  amongst  mankind."  It 
affirms  that  "the  word  'Republic  '  shall  signify  a  common- 
wealth, a  state,  or  a  unity  of  states,  in  which  public  affairs 
are  managed  by  persons  appointed  by  the  people  ;  and  in 
which  the  exercise  of  the   Sovereign  power  is  placed  in 

*  Rev.  W.  M.  Molesworth's  •'  History  of  England  from  1830  to 
1874-" 


chari.es  rradlaugh.  319 

representatives  freely  elected  b}'  the  people," — and  then  de- 
clares its  motto  to  be  "Ballots,  not  IJulIets."  It  is  worthy 
of  notice  at  this  point,  that  in  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  meetings,  as 
in  most  connected  with  the  Republican  agitation  of  which 
he  is  recognized  as  leader,  disturbances  have  come  from 
those  who  sustain  the  existing  order  of  things  in  the  Brit- 
ish Empire, 

In  connection  with  his  political  career,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  charges  of  "Communism,"  "Red  Republicanism" 
and  "Revolutionist,"  which  are  freely  made  against  him, 
are  not  sustained  by  his  writings  and  speeches.  In  po- 
litical economy  he  belongs  to  the  Malthusian  school,  and 
at  his  best  in  that  sense,  is  a  strict  disciple  of  John  Stuart 
Mill.  His  land  propositions  are  by  no  means  as  sweep- 
ing as  those  which  the  great  Prussian  statesman.  Baron 
Stein,  inagurated  in  1814  for  the  lasting  benefit  of  his  own 
country.  It  is  not  until  within  the  past  three  or  four  years 
that  Mr.  Bradlaugh  has  been  in  any  way  identified  with 
t'he  Labor  movement,  as  strictly  understood  in  England. 
Even  that  connection  has  been  a  political  one.  He  does 
not  hesitate  to  express  a  doubt  w'hether  combination  can 
permanently  raise  the  rate  of  wages,  though  he  has  always 
advocated  the  right  to  combine.  The  "Miners' National 
Union,"  and  that  of  Northumberland,  as  well  as  the  "Ag- 
ricultural Laborers'  Union"  are  those  whose  demonstra- 
tions Mr.  Bradlaugh  has  attended, — and  only  there  by  invi- 
tation,— for  as  he  has  recently  stated,  it  is  not  his  desire  to 
saddle  them  with  such  odium  as  rests  upon  himself  in 
consequence  of  antagonism  to  the  ordinary  faiths. 

As  a  politician  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  activity  did  not  fully 
begin  until  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States  divided  pub- 


320  BRIEF     BIOGRAPHIES. 

lie  opinion  between  the  North  and  the  South.  During  the 
ten  years  preceding,  there  had  been  no  marked  move- 
ment in  radical  politics,  and  most  of  the  speeches  made 
by  him,  bearing  on  other  than  his  special  topics,  were  in 
connection  with  the  Italian  movement,  and  in  support  of 
Mazzini  and  Garibaldi.  During  this  time  he  first  visited 
the  continent  and  began  to  be  intimately  known  to  French 
radicals  and  republicans.  Naturally  Mr.  Bradlaugh  placed 
himself  at  the  outset,  on  the  side  of  the  American  Union. 
He  also  began  to  write  and  lecture  upon  the  Labor  and 
Church  questions  in  Ireland,  and  when  the  Reform  League 
of  1864-5  and-6,  was  organized  under  the  presidency 
of  Mr.  Edmund  Beales,  he  became  one  of  the  Vice  Presi- 
dents and  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council. 

From  this  date  forward  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  public  career 
has  been  more  essentially  political,  and  his  name  has  be- 
come known  as  that  of  a  Republican  leader.  Allusion 
has  been  made  to  his  trial  for  publishing  the  National  Re- 
former, contrary  to  law.  A  brief  autobiographical  sketch 
thus  details  the  circumstances  : — 

"In  186S  I  entered  into  a  contest  with  the  Conservative  Govern- 
ment which,  having  been  continued  by  the  Gladstone  Government, 
finished  in  1869  with  a  complete  victory  for  myself.  According  to  the 
then  law  every  newspaper  was  required  to  give  sureties  to  the  extent 
of  ;^8oo  against  blasphemous  or  seditious  libel.  I  had  never  offered 
to  give  these  sureties,  as  they  would  have  probably  been  liable  to  for- 
feiture about  once  a  month.  In  March,  1868,  the  Disraeli  Govern- 
ment insisted  on  my  compliance  with  the  law.  I  refused.  The  Gov- 
ernment then  required  me  to  stop  my  paper.  I  printed  on  the  next 
issue,  '  Printed  in  Defiance  of  Her  Majesty's  Government.'  I  was 
then  served  with  an  Attorney-General's  information,  containing  numer- 
ous counts,  and  seeking  to  recover  enormous  penalties.  I  determin,ed 
to  be  my  own  barrister,  and  while  availing  myself,  in  consultation,  of 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  32  I 

the  best  legal  advice,  I  always  argued  my  own  case.  The  interlocutory 
hearings  before  the  Judges  in  Chambers  were  numerous,  for  I  took 
objection  to  nearly  every  step  made  by  the  government,  and  I  nearly 
always  succeeded.  I  also  brought  the  matter  before  the  Parliament, 
being  specially  backed  in  this  by  Mr.  Milner  Gibson,  Mr.  John  Stuart 
Mill,  and  Mr.  E.  H.  J.  Crawfurd.  When  the  information  was  called 
on  for  trial  in  a  crowded  court  before  Mr.  Baron  Martin,  the  Govern- 
ment backed  out,  and  declined  to  make  a  jury;  so  the  prosecution  fell 
to  the  ground.  Strange  to  say,  it  was  renewed  by  the  Gladstone  Gov- 
ernment, who  had  the  coolness  to  offer  me,  by  the  mouth  of  Attorney- 
General  Collier,  that  they  would  not  enforce  any  penalties  if  I  would 
stop  the  paper,  and  admit  that  I  was  in  the  wrong.  This  I  declined, 
and  the  prosecution  now  came  on  for  trial  before  Baron  Bramwell  and 
a  special  jury.  Against  me  were  the  Attorney-General,  Sir  R.  Collier, 
the  Solicitor-General,  Sir  J.  D.  Coleridge,  and  Mr.  Crompton  Hutton. 
I  found  that  these  legal  worthies  were  blundering  in  their  conduct  of 
the  trial,  and  at  nisi prhis  I  let  them  obtain  a  verdict,  which,  however, 
I  reversed  on  purely  technical  grounds,  after  a  long  argument,  which 
I  sustained  before  Lord  Chief  Baron  Kelly  and  a  full  court  sitting  in 
Banco.  Having  miserably  failed  to  enforce  the  law  against  me,  the 
government  repealed  the  statute,  and  I  can  boast  that  I  got  rid  of  the 
last  shackle  of  the  obnoxious  English  press  laws.  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill 
wrote  me  :  '  You  have  gained  a  very  honorable  success  in  obtaining  a 
repeal  of  the  mischevious  Act  by  your  persevering  resistance.'  The 
government,  although  beaten,  refused  to  reimburse  me  any  portion  of 
the  large  outlay  incurred  in  fighting  them." 

In  1 868,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  contested  the  Borough  of 
Northampton,  polling  nearly  a  thousand  votes.  He  has 
twice  since  then  contested  the  same  borough,  receiving 
each  time  a  larger  vote.  The  last  poll  showed  over  1700, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  of  his  achieving  his  election  ere 
long. 

The  canvasses  as  conducted  by  him  have  been  quite 
characteristic.  If  assailed  by  his  opponents,  whether  as 
to  religious  opinions  or  personal  character,  he  at  once  re- 
14*  21 


322  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

torted,  not  denying  the  first  and  replying  to  the  latter. 
As  most  of  these  have  been  mere  slanders,  his  retorts 
have  been  bitter  and  denunciator}'.  He  recently  refused 
to  become  the  recognized  Liberal  candidate  for  Northamp- 
ton at  the  next  vacancy,  unless  it  was  arranged  that  the 
person  vi^ho  held  that  position  at  the  last  contest  and  who 
was  guilty  of  making  a  libellous  charge  against  himself, 
should  be  withdrawn  from  any  further  candidacy.  It  had 
been  proposed  to  run  them  on  the  same  ticket.  Mr.  Brad- 
laugh  makes  a  practice  of  demanding  retraction  on  entering 
a  libel  suit  against  any  person  or  journal  that  make  charges 
of  a  personal  character. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war,  after 
decheance  had  been  proclaimed,  Mr.  Bradlaugh,  with  Dr. 
Congreve,  Prof.  Beesly,  and  other  leading  Positivists  in  Eng- 
land, organized  a  movement  in  sympathy  with  Republican 
France,  for  services  in  which  he  received  from  Tours 
a  flattering  letter  signed  by  Leon  Gambetta,  Adolphe 
Crdmieux,  and  Admiral  Fourdichon,  and  endorsed  by 
Emmanuel  Arago.  Since  then  his  connection  with  the  Con- 
tinental Republican  movements  has  been  quite  conspicu- 
ous, and  in  France  his  advice  is  sought  for  by  persons  of 
great  prominence.  He  is  among  those  who  fully  believe 
in  the  sincerity  of  the  Republican  declarations  of  Napo- 
leon Jerome  Bonaparte,  the  "  Red  Prince,"  as  he  is  termed, 
with  whom  he  is  on  terms  of  close  intimacy. 

In  the  summer  of  1873,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  visited  Madrid, 
taking  with  him  an  address  to  the  Spanish  Republican 
leaders.  He  passed  through  a  portion  of  Spain  in  which 
the  Carlists  were  operating  and  was  made  a  prisoner  at  a 
place  where  the  train  was  stopped.      Fortunately  for  him 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  323 

his  person  was  unknown  to  them  and  they  allowed  him  to 
pass  unmolested,  evidently  believing  him  bearer  of  des- 
patclies  to  the  English  Minister  or  something  equally  im- 
portant. At  Madrid  a  banquet  was  given  to  him,  and  in 
a  carefully  arranged  speech  made  in  French,  he  defined  a 
policy,  surprising  his  hearers,  and  those  who  read  it  after- 
wards, by  the  moderate  course  he  advocated  for  his  own 
guidance.  He  there  declared  that  Republics  could  not 
exist  without  Republicans,  and  that  if  he  was  able  then  to 
make  a  Republic  in  England  he  would  not  do  it,  because 
a  course  of  political  education  not  yet  had,  was  absolutely 
essential  to  its  permanence. 

In  his  National  Reformer  oi  June  27,  1875,  Mr.  Brad- 
laugh,  in  a  very  severe  castigation  of  the  well-known  Dr. 
Kenealy,  growing  out  of  an  attack  made  first  while  the 
editor  was  lecturing  in  America  and  repeated  after  his  re- 
turn, both  in  Kenealy's  paper,  The  Ejtglishman,  and  before 
his  constitutents,  thus  replies  to  a  charge  that  he  advocates 
a  "  Red  Republic,"  one  "  of  Blood,"  a  "  Republic  to  cut 
off  the  head  of  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,"  &c. 

"  I  have  never  advocated  a  Republic  of  force,  violence,  or  blood. 
I  have  never  advocated  any  sort  of  vengeance  against'  the  Monarch  or 
the  Heir  Apparent.  While  I  have  tried,  and  do  try,  to  induce  through- 
out England  a  Republican  feeling  and  Republican  hope,  I  have 
always,  both  here  by  tongue  and  pen,  and  in  Spain  by  my  tongue,  and 
in  Prance  by  my  pen,  and  in  America  by  tongue  and  pen — taught  the 
doctrine  that  you  can  never  make  a  Republic  by  killing  a  King,  but 
that  you  must  do  it  by  gradually  building  up,  through  years  of  educa- 
tion, the  brains  and  hopes  of  the  people." 

During  the  winters  of  1S73  and  '74  Mr.  Bradlaugh  has 
become  widely  known  to  the  American  people.  He  was 
denounced  at  first  by  a  few  journals,  one  of  them  speak- 


324  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ing  of  him,  before  he  lectured  in  the  city  of  its  publica- 
tion, as  a  "thorough-paced  bully."  Since  then  the  same 
journal  has  comjDlimented  highly  a  lecture  on  the  "  Land 
and  Labor  "  question,  expressing  editorial  surprise  at  the 
moderation  of  the  orator's  views.  In  general  his  recep- 
tion must  have  been  satisfactory  to  himself,  and  the  com- 
ments of  the  press  are  favorable.  One  journal  describes 
him  on  the  platform  as  having  "  not  a  particle  of  the 
peculiar  English  hesitation  and  embarrassment,  his  words 
flowing  in  a  smooth,  uninterrupted  current  with  a  prompt- 
ness quite  American,  and  with  an  eloquence  and  fervor 
quite  inspiring.  His  diction,  also,  is  that  of  a  man  of  cul- 
ture and  study,  though  he  says  that  he  had  no  advantages 
of  college  education,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  poor  man,  rough  and 
common  —  like  the  mass  of  the  people  from  whom  he 
sprang,  and  for  whose  rights  he  pleads."  Another 
describes  him  as  about  "  six  feet  high,  of  fine  commanding 
fiii-ure,  magnetic  voice,  and  a  hand  that  has  a  world  of 
changeful  expression  in  itself.  Whatever  may  be  said  of 
Bradlaugh's  sentiments,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he 
has  the  charm  and  grace  of  the  orator."  Charles  Sumner 
and  Wendell  Phillips  have  declared  him  to  be  of  the  most 
remarkable  type  of  English  speakers.  A  correspondent 
describes  him  in  a  Western  paper,  as  an  orator  for  "  the 
out-of-door,  with  a  voice  that  harmonizes  with  those  of 
nature.  It  has  a  resonant  ring  in  it,  somewhat  like  the 
blare  of  the  brass  of  which  the  German  military  instru- 
ments are  made,  the  peculiar  penetrating  quality  of  which 
every  one  who  has  heard  them  will  not  fail  to  recall." 
Mr.  Bradlaugh  speaks  naturally  and  with  great  ease,  his 
impromptus  being  as  finished  as  his  prepared  efforts.     A 


CHARLES    BRADLAUGH.  325 

little  speech  made  in  response  to  a  call  at  a  woman's  suf- 
frage meeting  in  Boston,  exhibits  this  and  will  bear  quoting 
in  part.  After  saying  that  he  only  rose  in  response  to  the 
call,  and  would  speak  but  briefly,  Mr.  Bradlaugh  said  : — 

"  There  are  only  two  grounds  on  which  the  exercise  of  individual 
suffrage  can  be  claimed  or  denied.  The  first  is  that  of  right,  the 
second  that  of  expediency.  I  have  long  since  eliminated  the  latter 
from  my  mind,  and  the  former  furnishes  no  sex  distinctions.  It  is  not 
a  national  question,  it  is  a  human  one.  All  humanity  have  equal  in- 
terest  in  its  solution." 

He  then  referred  to  the   agitation  in  England,  and  said 
that  he  had  always  favored  it  on  this  ground  : — 

"  That  those  who  have  to  obey  laws  should  have  the  opporl  unity 
of  expressing  consent  to  the  legislation ;  on  the  ground  urged  by  Pym 
and  Hampden,  and  later  by  Chatham  for  yourselves,  that  a  govern- 
ment has  no  right  to  put  its  hand  in  the  pocket  of  a  citizen  who  has  no 
voice  in  its  creation  nor  of  control  in  its  conduct.  He  was  for  woman's 
suffrage  in  no  pretended  spirit  of  chivalry  or  mockery  of  desire  to  as- 
sist a  sex  inferior  in  intellectual  ability :  he  was  in  favor  of  it  as  a  duty 
and  a  right.  The  sex  which  had  its  H ypatia,  whose  intellect  and 
humanity  stood  out  clear  and  bright  in  the  world's  then  dark  pages, 
need  hardly  even  give  as  proofs  of  its  efficiency  the  many  brilliant 
stars  which  have  so  often  shone,  despite  the  clouds  custom  had  hung 
to  obscure  woman's  cause." 


XIX. 

George  Odger. 


JIUSTIN    McCarthy  writing  of   "  Republican- 
ism in  England,"  *  describes  the  meeting  of  sym- 

pathy  for  the  French  Republic  held  in  Trafalgar 

Square,  a  place  which,  like  Hyde  Park,  is  often  the  scene 
of  the  great  Radical  gatherings  that  have  of  late  years 
grown  so  common  in  England.  McCarthy  says  :  "  The 
great  political  leaders  never  make  their  voices  heard  at 
Trafalgar  Square  ;  but  Trafalgar  Square  makes  its  voice 
heard  by  all  parties."  He  refers  to  this  particular  meet- 
ing at  length,  using  it  as  a  text  by  which  to  illustrate  the 
growth  of  Republican  ideas.  "  The  meaning  of  the  thing  " 
he  says  "  was  plain,  let  who  would  pretend  to  ignore,  or 
to  deny,  or  to  despise  it."  The  meaning  was  that  the 
vast  majority  of  the  intelligent  working  men  of  London 
are  thoroughly,  earnestly,  and  even  passionately  repub- 
lican.    Farther  on  he  describes  a  small  meeting  held  for 


*  The  Galaxy,  July,  1 871. 


GEORGE    ODGER.  327 

deliberative  purposes.  Leaders  of  the  working  class  were 
there,  and  so  also  were  representative  thinkers  of  the 
Positivist  and  other  schools.  "  But  the  sentiment  of 
the  meeting  was  just  the  same  as  that  of  Trafalgar 
Square."  It  is  not  inappropriate,  before  proceeding  to 
personal  reference  to  Mr.  Odger  and  his  representa- 
tive position,  to  give  what  Justin  McCarthy  says  as  to 
the  ideas  of  Democracy  entertained  by  the  class  of  whom 
Mr.  Odger  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  the  most  marked 
representative. 

"  The  London  artisan,  always  rather  intelligent  and 
always  inclined  to  radicalism,  is  to-day  a  man  well  read  in 
the  politics  of  his  time,  highly  practical  in  all  his  objects, 
well  drilled  into  the  discipline  of  co-operation  and  organ- 
ization by  his  Trades'  Unions,  and  as  little  inclined  to 
rave  of  social  contracts  or  demand  re-distribution  of 
property  as  Horace  Greeley  would  be.  He  means  what 
he  says  ;  he  knows  what  he  is  talking  about.  When  he 
throws  up  his  hat  for  a  republic,  he  has  not  the  remotest 
expectation  that  a  republic  would  make  him  rich  or  place 
the  property  of  his  wealthy  neighbor  at  his  disposal.  But 
he  has  acquired  a  clear  and  strong  conviction  that  a 
republican  government  is  the  fairest,  the  cheapest,  and 
the  best  political  system,  and  he  sees  plainly  the  real, 
not  the  imaginary  defects  and  sins  of  the  system  which 
surrounds  him."  Of  the  "  Trades'  Union  "  to  which  Mr. 
McCarthy  attributes  a  large  degree  of  this  republican 
spirit,  he  says  ;  "  Its  own  organization  is  essentially  repub- 
lican. It  has  been  hitherto  an  association  formed  virtu- 
ally outside  the  English  constitution  and  with  no  protec- 
tion from  English  law.     It  has  looked  royalty  in  the  face, 


328  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

and  seen  there  was  nothing  divine  there  ;  it  has  counted 
how  much  kings  and  queens  cost,  and  found  they  were 
not  worth  the  money.  Of  late,  too,  the  London  working 
man  has  discovered  he  counts  for  something.  He  lias 
been  called  into  council  with  the  great  political  leader,  or 
the  great  aristocrat,  and  he  sees  they  are  only  men  like 
himself.  ■*  *  *  By  his  brains  and  his  own  strength  he 
fought  his  way  upward." 

Since  these  words  were  written,  working  men,  as  such, 
have  entered  the  English  House  of  Commons.  The  next 
general  election,  whether  it  comes  soon,  or  shall  be  long 
delayed,  will  see  a  considerable  increase  in  their  number. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  such  a  result  may  induce  the 
"  territorial "  liberals,  as  the  whig  families  have  been 
named,  to  allow  Mr.  Disx"aeli  a  longer  term  of  office  than 
would  otherwise  be  probable,  on  the  principle  of  — "  after 
us,  the  deluge." 

One  of  the  foremost  men  in  bringing  about  the  rejnib- 
lican  growth,  which  no  impartial  and  clear-sighted  obseiver 
can  fail  to  see  in  England,  is  George  Odger,  a  London 
shoemaker,  and  one  who,  were  he  ten  or  fifteen  years 
younger  than  he  is,  might  fairly  see  open  before  him  pros- 
pects of  marked  honors  in  the  future  and  more  democratic 
life,  on  which  his  covuitry  is  entering.  Mr,  Odger  is 
spoken  of  "  as  one  of  the  very  ablest  and  best  among  the 
working-men  leaders."  *  He  is  an  avowed  Republican, 
and  shares  with  Mr.  Bradlaugh  the  leadership  of  such 
movement  in  that  direction  as  openly  organizes  itself.  It 
might  not  be  proper  to  say  that  Mr.  Odger  is  the  foremost 

*  Justin  McCarthy,  Galaxy  ,  July,  1871. 


GEORGE    ODGER.  329 

leader;  but  it  is  certainly  true  that  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  con- 
stituency would  be  small  to-day,  if  he  had  not  been  pre- 
ceded by  George  Jacob  Holyoake  in  the  organization 
of  the  Secularist  movement,  and  by  George  Odger  in 
the  early  federation  and  consolidation  of  the  Trades' 
Societies,  lifting  them  out  of  merely  local  and  class  impor- 
tance into  a  distinct  social,  political  and  economical 
force.  George  Odger  fairly  represents  the  modern 
British  artisan,  in  the  same  sense  that  Joseph  Arch  must 
be  regarded  as  the  representative  of  the  agricultural 
Laborer,  of  whom  Mr.  McCarthy  wrote  in  the  same 
sketch  from  which  quotations  have  already  been  made, 
that — "  Of  the  mental  condition  of  the  English  peasant, 
the  laborer  in  the  fields,  who  ought  to  be  at  least  the  peer 
of  the  artisan  in  the  towns,  I  hesitate  to  speak  in  language 
which  would  seem  to  be  adequate  lest  I  should  appear 
guilty  of  gross  exaggeration.  I  doubt  if  any  country  in  the 
civilized  world  has  a  class  among  its  people  so  stupid,  so 
ignorant,  so  debased  in  the  passive  sense,  as  the  English 
agricultural  laborer.  *  *  *  For  the  present  the  agri- 
cultural workers  may  be  set  down  in  politics  simply  as  a 
torpid  mass,  as  incapable  either  of  individual  or  collective 
action,  even  in  their  own  interests,  as  the  pigs  and  the 
oxen  who  are  their  familiar  companions."  Yet  this  same 
class,  within  ten  months  of  the  publication  of  the  foregoing, 
startled  England  with  an  organized  movement  as  memor- 
able in  character  and  extent  as  any  of  the  greatest  popu- 
lar efforts  that  preceded  it.  Within  two  years  it  com- 
manded the  voices  of  Francis  Newman  and  Cardinal  Man- 
ning ;  of  Professor  I'^awcett  and  Charles  Bradlaugh  ;  of  the 
Earl  of  Shaftesbury  and  John  Bright ;. and  in  less  than  four 


330  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

years  after  Mr.  McCarthy  had  written,  that — "  these 
men  have  no  vote,  and  I  hardly  think  the  most  ardent  up- 
holder of  extended  suffrage  could  find  much  cause  to 
desire  the  immediate  extension  of  the  suffrage  to  them" — 
the  bill  to  give  them  that  suffrage  was  supported  in  the 
House  of  Commons  by  speeches  from  Trevelyan,  Bright, 
Fawcett,  Taylor,  Dilke,  Mundella,  Lubbock,  Brassey,  Mot- 
ley, Lord  Montague  and  others,  and  received  167  votes  in 
its  favor.  The  rate  of  social  progress  is  growing  rapidly 
in  England,  and  it  is  not  safe  to  forecast  without  a  clear 
apprehension  of  the  conditions. 

George  Odger  was  born  in  1829,  at  the  little  village  of 
Roubro',  lying  between  Plymouth  and  Tavistock,  in  the 
County  of  Devon,  and  is  now  in  his  fifty-fifth  year.  His 
father,  John  Odger,  was  a  native  of  Cornwall  and  a  miner. 
The  son  was  born  in  penury,  and  habituated  to  toil  from 
his  earliest  years.  His  boyish  education  was  limited  to 
the  rustic  "dame  school"  of  his  native  hamlet,  and  hardly 
reached  to  the  dignity  of  the  "  three  R's — reading,  'riting 
and  'rithmetic."  At  about  ten  years  of  age,  he  began  to 
learn  the  shoemaker's  trade,  and  he  continued  to  follow  it 
regularly,  until  in  his  earlier  manhood  he  became  so  noted 
a  Trades'  Leader,  that  employers  marked  him  as  a  man  not 
to  be  hired  if  it  was  possible  to  avoid  it.  This  in  the 
elementary  days  of  the  English  labor  agitation  is  reported 
to  have  been  a  favorite  means  of  punishing  workmen  who 
became  too  conspicuous  as  leaders.  There  are  a  score  of 
men  now  in  radical  politics  there,who  have  been  made  prom 
inent  by  the  influence  of  such  a  policy.  The  craft  Mr. 
Odger  followed  has  always  been  noted  for  its  tendency  to 
produce  strong  and  reflective  men.     Its  sedentary  charac- 


1 


GEORGE    ODGER.  33  I 

ter  probably  helps  study  and  reflection,  where  th<'  mind 
naturally  turns  that  way.  Certain  it  is,  that  Mr.  Odger 
began  early  to  read  and  study,  and  before  he  had  arrived 
at  manhood  he  became  a  local  celebrity  both  as  writer  antl 
speaker.  He  did  not  remain  long  in  his  native  place,  but 
travelled  to  the  large  towns,  seeking  and  obtaining  work, 
learning  men  and  affairs,  and  at  last  settling  in  London, 
when  about  twenty  years  of  age.  He  was  soon  known  as 
an  expert  workman  at  his  trade,  and  is  to-day  regarded  as 
one  of  the  very  best  in  the  English  metropolis.  Until  very 
recently,  at  least,  he  worked  quite  regularly  at  his  trade, 
though  not  entirely  dependent  upon  it  as  a  source  of  in- 
come. His  extensive  and  accurate  knowledge  of  English 
working  life,  and  his  power  both  as  writer  and  speaker  are 
generally  sufficient  to  command  all  his  time  and  return 
sufficient  remuneration  for  his  moderate  habits, — -enabling 
him  also  to  serve  the  causes  for  which  he  has  always  strug- 
gled. The  Contemporary  Review  oi  1870  and  187 1,  publish- 
ed several  able  articles  from  his  pen,  on  the  Land  ques- 
tion, the  Labor  Law,  Representation,  and  similar  topics. 
It  was  in  London  that  he  first  became  prominent  as  a 
Trades'  Unionist,  but  in  a  spirit  more  sagacious  and  liberal 
than  generally  prevailed  at  the  time.  The  introduction  of 
machinery  into  the  cord-wain ers'  shops  created,  as  is  apt 
to  be  the  case  at  first,  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  operatives.  Mr.  Odger  openly  opposed  this  folly 
and  was  able  to  make  his  associates  accept  his  views.  He 
first  became  widely  known  by  his  active  work  in  organiz- 
ing the  movements  which  dated  from  the  great  lock-out 
in  185 1,  by  engineer  and  iron  manufacturing  firms  of 
nearly  or  quite  30,000  workmen.  This  was  in  consequence 


332  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  the  determination  of  the  Amalgamated  Engineers,  the 
strongest  union  of  skilled  artisans  then  or  now  in  existence, 
to  demand  the  abolition  of  piece-work  and  some  other  de- 
tails. The  result  that  followed  was  seen  first  in  the 
consolidation  of  local  societies  or  unions  belonging  to  the 
same  trade  into  general  unions  ;  next  in  the  amalgamation 
of  the  trades  belonging  to  a  related  group  into  a  larger 
body.  The  Engineer  Union  already  mentioned  is  an  ex- 
ample. It  is,  as  originally  formed,  one  of  eight  or  ten 
different  Trades'  Societies.  Next  came  the  effort  towards 
federation,  with  which  Mr.  Odger  has  been  most  closely 
identified.  It  manifested  itself  first  in  efforts  to  form 
delegate  councils  in  large  towns  and  boroughs  or  other 
centers  of  industry,  then  in  extending  these  till  they  em- 
brace a  whole  district,  like  the  potteries  of  Staffordshire 
or  the  collieries  of  Yorkshire  and  Durham.  Then  came 
the  convening  of  an  annual  Trades  Conference  or  Congress, 
and  later  still  the  remarkable  organization  known  as  "  the 
International  Working  Men's  Association."  In  both  of 
these  latter  movements,  Mr.  Odger  may  fairly  be  regarded 
as  a  leading  mind  and  organizing  brain.  He  was  connec- 
ted with  the  "  International  "  until  when,  after  the  close 
of  the  Paris  commune  rebellion,  it  felt  itself  obliged,  on 
account  of  the  position  it  had  borne  thereto,  to  assume 
the  role  of  a  political  conspiracy  instead  of  continuing  as 
It  had  been,  an  open  and  avowed,  but  peaceful  propaganda 
for  social,  economic  and  political  changes,  great  in  their 
scope  and  startling  perhaps  in  their  significance.  George 
Odger  appears  from  the  first  of  the  movements  thus  out- 
lined, to  have  worked  with  a  clear  and  definite  apprehen- 
sion of  the  end  in  view — that  of  organizing  labor,  so  that 


GEORGE    ODGER.  333 

it  would  not  only  demand  more  wages,  but  in  the  end 
require  and  compel  the  organization  of  a  better  economic 
system,  through  the  operations  of  which  a  more  equitable 
distribution  of  results  should  be  attained.  He  also  aimed 
at  the  political  enfranchisement  of  his  class,  and  to  that 
end  he  has  never  failed  to  advise  that  their  associations 
should,  through  their  larger  and  delegated  assemblies,  take 
a  decided  political  position.  His  speeches  at  the  several 
Trades'  Conferences  and  Congresses  he  has  served  in,  from 
those  at  Shefifield  and  Preston  sixteen  years  or  so  ago  to 
the  last,  held  in  Liverpool,  April,  1875,  all  advocate  these 
views.  A  student  of  this  remarkable  phase  of  English 
radical  politics,  cannot  fail  to  see  that  Mr.  Odger's  per- 
ceptions of  the  character  of  the  force  with  which  he  was 
then  dealing,  as  well  as  its  relations  to  the  general  interests 
of  the  nation  whereof  he  was  a  member,  fairly  entitled  him 
to  be  regarded  as  possessing  a  great  deal  of  philosophical 
and  statesmanlike  insight. 

In  1859  he  first  became  more  generally  known  to  the 
London  artisans,  by  his  service  on  a  general  committee 
appointed  to  aid  the  building-trades'  w^orkmen,  then  on 
strike  to  the  number  of  10,000,  for  a  reduction  of  the  hours 
from  ten  to  nine  per  day.  In  any  part  of  the  United 
States,  unless  it  might  be  Pennsylvania,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult for  one  to  realise  the  sort  of  excitement  that  such  an 
event  could  then  produce  in  London  and  indirectly  on  the 
whole  of  England,  the  circumstance  even  assuming  a  politi- 
cal character.  Great  meetings  were  held  in  Hyde  Park. 
The  police  were  used  to  watch  the  strikers  or  to  protect 
the  "  blacklegs,"  as  those  are  called  who  work  outside  the 
Union  movement.     It  was  a  common  thing  for  men  to  be 


334  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

arrested  for  posting  placards  or  distributing  hand  bills, 
while  Parliament  was  besought  to  enact  special  legislation 
against  the  strikers.  Mr.  Odger  was  one  of  the  active  ad- 
visers of  the  latter  class.  His  association  with  the  Trades' 
Societies  and  the  movement  born  of  them  has  extended 
over  nearly  forty  years.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a . 
member  of  the  London  Trades'  Council,  and  until  within 
a  year  or  two  has  occupied  the  position  of  secretary. 

It  was  this  body,  under  the  presidency  of  George  Potter, 
editor  of  the  London  Beehive — who,  like  Mr.  Odger,  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Reform  League 
— that  induced  the  London  Unions  to  abandon  their  policy 
of  abstention  from  organized  political  agitations,  and  act 
on  the  advice  of  John  Bright.  They  appeared  in  1866  in  a 
great  street  procession  and  meeting,  30,000  strong,  in  sup- 
port of  the  popular  demand  for  household  suffrage.  The 
effect  of  that  demonstration  was  quite  notable,  and  the 
London  press  for  days  after  the  procession  had  marched 
through  the  principal  streets  of  the  fashionable  West  End, 
teemed  with  half-frightened  references  to  its  military, 
aspect,  good  marching,  admirable  order,  well  closed  column 
and  complete  discipline. 

This  energy  and  activity .  combined  with  his  very, 
decided  abilit}^  have  kept  Mr.  Odger  in  the  very  front 
.rank  of  agitation  for  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
During  the  decade  between  1850  and  i860,  when  the  Eng- 
lish artisan  was  chiefly  engaged  in  social  and  economic 
efforts,  he  was  usually  a  member  of  delegations  sent  from 
bodies  to  petition  or  remonstrate  with  the  Ministry  in  pow 
er  on  different  measures  that  were  pending.  It  is  stated 
that  Mr.  Odger  at  one  of  these  deputations  strongly  attracted 


GEORGE    ODGER.  335 

ed  the  notice  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  then  Chancellor  of  the 
Exechequer  under  Loid  Palmerston's  premiership.  The 
occasion  was  a  bill  offered  by  the  Government  in  regard  to 
Friendly  Societies.  He  was  engaged  in  perfecting  a  series 
of  fiscal  and  ameliorative  measures,  whose  results  have 
proven  widely  beneficial,  especially  to  the  working  class. 
But  every  measure  offered  by  the  Palmerston  Government 
was  regarded  by  the  working-men  with  suspicion,  because 
of  the  fact  that  Lord  Palmerston  had  promised  a  reform 
bill  and  then  failed  to  fulfil  his  pledges.  The  particular 
bill  which  caused  the  sending  of  a  deputation  was  designed 
to  strengthen  the  societies,  but  some  details  were  objection- 
able. Mr.  Gladstone,  who  is  reported  to  be  much  more 
friendly  in  his  reception  of  such  deputations  than  is  com- 
mon, took  the  opportunity  of  inquiring  why  such  distrust 
prevailed  of  his  own  and  colleagues,  intentions,  among 
those  whom  Mr.  Odger  represented.  Th-e  Finance  Minis- 
ter was  asked  at  once, — if  he  wanted  a  full  and  free  answer  ? 
He  replied  affirmatively,  of  course.  Mr.  Odger  replied — 
because  the  workmen  had  been  betrayed.  An  animated 
discussion  ensued.  A  few  nights  after  Mr.  Gladstone 
declared  in  the  Commons  in  substance  what  the  Radical 
Odger  had  affirmed — that  it  was  the  duty  of  those  who 
keep  the  people  out  of  the  exercise  of  their  right  of  repre- 
sentation, to  give  reasons  for  the  wisdom  and  good  policy 
of  their  acts.  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  warmly  and  created 
some  debate.  It  has  been  stated  that  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
since  that  day  frequently  had  occasion  to  consult  Mr.  Odger., 
whose  accurate  knowledge  of  the  working  men's  movements 
and  wishes,  has  probably  been  of  great  value  to  the  Lib- 
eral statesman. 


336  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mr.  Odger's  connection  with  the  "  International  Work- 
ing Men's  Association,"  began  with  the  veiy  first  steps  oi 
tliat  movement,  in  its  organized  form.  The  first  proposi- 
tion  advanced  for  a  general  confederation  of  Labor,  based 
on  the  assumption  that  its  interests  were  necessarily  at  war 
with  the  current  economic  system,  came  from  Dr.  Karl 
Marx  and  Frederic  Engel,  two  well-known  German  po- 
litical refugees  residing  in  London,  who  just  before  the  out- 
break of  the  French  Revolution  in  1848,  issued  an  address 
setting  forth  their  view  of  the  historical-social  development, 
and  predicting  that  labor  or  production,  as  a  controlling 
power,  must  take  the  place  of  the  trading  or  commercial 
spirit.  This  document,  a  very  remarkable  one  in  its  ability 
and  purpose,  was  translated  into  English.  No  organiza- 
tion was  made.  Nothing  was  attempted  until,  in  1864,  the 
leading  English  Unionists,  of  whom  Mr.  Odger  was  fore- 
most, became  converts  to  the  plan  long  urged  by  Dr.  Marx^ 
who  had  returned  to  London  after  the  Republican  disas- 
ters of  1848,  of  organizing  an  International  Society.  The 
practical  result  at  which  the  Englishmen  aimed  was,  by  ar- 
riving at  a  common  understanding  with  Continental  work- 
men, to  prevent  their  being  ignorantly  used  by  English 
employers  to  replace  their  native  workmen  when  a  "strike'' 
or  "  lockout"  was  in  progress.  This  was  the  view  first  put 
forward  by  the  English  advocates.  A  meeting  was  con- 
vened at  St.  Martin's  Hotel,  September  28,  1864,  at  which 
Mr.  Odger  was  a  prominent  speaker.  It  was  at  a  time  too,when 
a  Polish  agitation  was  in  progress,  and  this  lent  some  further 
interest  to  the  movement.  It  is  not  necessary  to  follow 
the  progress  of  this  famous  bug-bear,  for  such  it  was  to  the 
Conservative  influences  of  the  old  world.     The  facts  given 


GEORGE    ODGER.  337 

as  lo  its  origin  have  been  verified  by  original  documeiU, 
and  personal  knowledge.  In  England  the  movement  al- 
ways had,  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Franco-Prussian  wars 
a  Trades'  Union  aspect.  So  also  in  Belgium  to  a  certain 
extent.  In  France,  Germany  and  elsewhere,  repressive 
attempts  made  it  political.  Its  platform  made  in  1865,  at 
the  first  Congress  it  held  in  Geneva,  expresses  in  simpler 
form  than  can  be  found  elsewhere,  the  underlying  ideas  of 
the  Democratic-Socialist  movement,  evidence  of  the  deep 
seated  character  of  which  is  everywhere  visible  in  Europe 
— if  not  so  plainly  in  the  United  States.  The  movement 
was  an  open  one,  though  of  course  its  policy  and  methods 
were  not  usually  proclaimed.  As  George  J.  Eccarius,  its 
able  general  Secretary  for  several  years,  once  tersely  said 
— "  The  people  agitate  ;  they  do  not  conspire."  Of  course, 
he  added — "We  are  the  People."  Mr.  Odger  remained 
a  member  of  the  general  Council  until  1872,  when 
with  most  of  the  English  sections  and  leaders  he  retired. 
Since  then  the  "  International"  seems  to  have  become 
almost  as  shadowy  an  affair  as  the  famous  Italian 
Carbonari.  The  English  artisan  has  but  little  time  for 
Utopian  efforts,  and  those  who  lead  them  must  not  go  so 
far  in  advance  as  to  be  lost  in  a  mist. 

During  the  American  civil  war,  Mr.  Odger  was  one  of 
the  most  untiring  advocates  of  the  Union  cause  to  be 
found  in  England.  This  fact  and  the  exertions  he  made  were 
of  considerable  benefit  to  the  cause  he  espoused.  The 
London  artisans  were  more  inclined  than  some  of  their 
provincial  friends,  to  accept  the  theory  that  the  Southern 
states  were  simply  fighting  for  independence,  and  the 
Northern  for  empire.  The  agents  of  the  South  expended 
15  22 


33^  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

a  great  deal  of  money  and  labor  in  the  effort  to  increase 
and  spread  this  view,  especially  when,  in  the  latter  part  of 
1862,  the  policy  of  raising  the  Southern  blockade  by  Great 
Britain  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  cotton  was  persist- 
ently agitated  and  met  with  some  favor.  The  plan  of 
those  interested  was  to  obtain  a  demand  from  the  working 
classes,  on  the  score  of  the  sufferings  created  among  the 
mill  operatives  by  the  cotton  famine.  No  class  opposed 
this  so  bitterly  and  effectively  as  the  operatives  themselves. 
The  allies  of  the.  South  were  never  able  to  hold,  in  the 
cotton  district,  a  free  public  meeting  to  advocate  their 
policy — the  workmen  invaribly  taking  control  and  passing 
•Union  resolutions.  In  London  however  they  seemed  to 
be  making  headway.  Mr.  Odger,  Mr.  George  Howell,  Mr. 
Thomas  Mottershead,  Mr.  W.  R.  Cramer,  and  some  others 
of  the  leading  Trades'  Unionists,  devoted  themselves  to 
the  work  of  opposing  this  policy.  Their  labors  were  great, 
and  they  were  made  at  a  sacrifice,  as  the  advocates  were 
poor.  It  was  stated  that  at  one  time,  the  Southern  agents, 
having  bought  the  advocacy  of  one  of  the  only  t\vo 
avowedly  democratic  weekly  newspapers  in  London,  had 
arranged  the  same  purchase  in  the  case  of  the  other.  Mr. 
Odger,  who  was  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Directors,  heard 
of  the  negotiations.  There  was  an  unpaid  mortgage  on 
the  property.  The  facts  were  laid  before  Bazley  Potter, 
M.  P.,  and  other  friends  of  the  Union  ;  the  money  was 
found  for  Mr.  Odger  to  take  up  the  mortgage  with,  and  at 
the  business  meeting  called  to  consummate  the  bargain 
with  the  confederate  agents,  Mr.  Odger  announced  that 
he  held  the  controlling  position.  It  was  to  this  gentleman 
and  his  colleagues  that  the  convening  of  the  first  public 


GEORGE  ODGER.  339 

meeting  of  London  workingiiien  in  belialf  of  the  Union 
was  due.  That  meeting  was  the  famous  one  held  at  St. 
James  Hall,  March  26,  1863,  at  which  John  Bright  made 
one  of  the  most  memorable  of  the  many  remarkable 
speeches  he  delivered  on  the  "  American  Question." 
This  great  meeting,  practically  turned  the  tide  in  the 
British  House  of  Commons  ;  —  Mr.  Bright  followed  up 
his  address  there,  the  very  next  night  in  the  House,  with  a 
vigorous  assault  on  the  resolution  of  confederate  recog- 
nition offered  by  Mr.  Lindsay,  which  had  been  ion  some 
time  pending,  and  practically  caused  its  defeat.  This 
broke  the  back  of  Southern  sympathy  in  Great  Britain, 
To  Mr.  Odger  personally,  who  presided  at  St.  James' 
Hall,  very  much  of  the  success  was  due.  He  and  his 
friends  were  but  a  small  band — but  they  roused  the  Trades' 
Unions  from  indifference  to  active  sympathy.  It  was  the 
first  public  demonstration  those  bodies  had  ever  col- 
lectively made  on  a  question  not  related  to  their  own 
affairs.  So  doubtful  were  Mr.  Odger  and  his  friends, 
that,  as  is  related  by  one  of  them,  they  were  almost 
afraid  when  within  a  few  blocks  of  the  Hall,  to  go  on. 
They  dreaded  lest  it  should  be  a  failure,  or  should  prove 
to  be  in  the  hands  of  an  hostile  crowd.  But  to  their  great 
pleasure  they  found  tlie  large  hall  filled  to  overflowing,  and 
enough  unable  to  enter,  to  make  a  goodly  out-of-door  meet- 
ing. The  expenses  of  this  meeting  were  all  advanced  by 
these  poor  men,  though  they  were  afterwards  reimbursed. 

Such  incidents  and  facts  illustrate  the  character  of  Mr. 
Odger's  work  and  position  as  a  public  man.  Soon  after  the 
cessation  of  the  Reform  League  agitation,  he  identified 
himself  with  an  avowed  Republican  movement,  in  support 


340  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  which  he  then  made  an  extended  lecturing  tour.  His 
speeches  have  followed  the  same  general  lines  that  Mr.  Brad- 
laugh's  pursue,  and  are  always  within  the  law.  He  was 
however  set  upon  by  Conservative  mobs  and  at  one  place 
was  severely  beaten,  suffering  injuries  that  confined  him 
for  some  time.  He  is  an  excellent  speaker  with  a  strong, 
steady  presence,  good  voice,  and  clear  grasp,  of  his  subject. 
He  is  a  man  of  short  stature,  but  of  a  massive  frame, 
deep  chested,  broad  shouldered,  with  great  girth.  His 
limbs  are  ral  her  short  for  his  trunk.  The  head  is  very  large, 
and  full  in  every  respect.  The  forehead  rises  dome-like 
above  the  deep  set  greyish  eyes  that  have  a  keen,  humorous 
and  questioning  look  in  them.  The  features  are  large  and 
rather  heavy,  the  nose  being  full,  the  mouth  large  and  mobile, 
the  lower  jaw  heavy  and  firm.  The  general  expression  is 
kindly  and  sagacious,  thoughtful  and  quiet.  He  is  the 
peer  in  native  ability  of  the  most  promising  public  men  in 
England,  and  had  he  been  endowed  with  the  culture  of  a 
Gladstone  or  Derby,  or  had  he  been  possessed  of  a  fair 
pecuniary  independence,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
George  Odger  would  long  since  have  been  in  Parliament, 
and  would  have  sat  in  more  than  one  British  Cabinet.  He 
is  married,  and  his  family  now  consists  of  his  wife  and  two 
sons,  one  of  whom  has  served  in  the  British  army. 

Mr.  Odger  has  become  widely  known  from  his  unsuc- 
cessful canvasses  for  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
He  was  the  first  distinctive  representative  of  his  class  who 
offered  himself  as  a  candidate.  He  stood  the  first  time 
for  the  borough  of  Chelsea, — now  in  part  represented  by 
Sir  Charles  Dilke.  This  borough  was  a  new  one — created 
by  the  Reform  bill  of  1867.     Mr.  Odger  says  of  his  candi- 


GEORGE    ODGER.  34  I 

dature,  that  "  I  went  to  Chelsea  at  the  invitation  of  a 
thousand  electors,  and  the  cry  was  then  raised  that  I  was 
dividing  the  Liberal  interest,  and  in  deference  to  a  great 
principle,  in  order  that  I  might  not  jeopardize  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's power  in  Parliament  with  reference  to  the  Irish 
church  question,  I,  at  the  request  of  the  working-men,  who 
said  there  was  a  principle  at  stake,  accepted  arbitration, 
which  being  against  me,  I  left  Chelsea."* 

In  June,  1869,  he  contested  the  Borough  of  Stafford, 
now  represented  by  Mr.  Macdonald,  President  of  the 
National  Miners  Union.  The  population  consists  largely 
of  shoemakers.  Four  Liberal  candidates  (including  him- 
self) were  in  the  field.  The  Tories  had  but  two — the  num- 
ber to  be  elected.  The  other  Liberals  were  Mr.  Vi.  J. 
Evans,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Whitworth,  both  of  whom  had 
been  in  the  House,  and  Mr.  Edward  Jenkins,  author  of 
"  Ginx's  baby."  A  biographical  sketch  of  Mr.  Odger  gives 
the  following  facts  in  relation  to  this  and  subsequent  ef- 
forts :  "  Mr.  Odger  declared  his  willingness  that  a  pre- 
liminary ballot  should  decide  which  two  of  the  three  were 
to  go  to  the  poll  ;  at  the  same  time  not  concealing  his 
opinion,  that,  since  he  came  forward  distinctly  as  the  work- 
ingman's  candidate,  he  ought  to  have  been  adopted,  and 
the  preliminary  ballot  confined  to  the  other  three.  More- 
over, he  contended  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  give 
each  elector  but  one  vote  in  the  ballot  and  to  extend  it  to 
the  whole  constituency  instead  of  confining  it  to  such  as 
voted  for  the  Liberal  candidate  at  the  preceding  election. 
The  ballot,  however,  was  taken  with  the  following  result ; 

*  "Labor  Portrait  Gallery,"  Beehive,  London,  1S73. 


342  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Whitworth,  720  votes;  Evans,  519  ;  George  Odger,  375  ; 
Jenkins,  182.  But  when  the  election  came  on,  the  two 
Liberals  were  rejected,  and  the  two  Tories  (Salt  and  Talbot) 
were  returned — a  result  for  which  George  Odger,  at  all 
events,  was  in  no  way  responsible. 

"  Not  daunted  by  the  want  of  success  in  one  of  the  cen- 
tres of  his  own  craft,  George  Odger  presented  himself,  in 
February,  1870,  to  the  notice  of  the  borough  of  Southwark, 
The  constituency,  always  one  of  advanced  opinions,  had, 
by  the  extension  of  the  franchise,  become  increasingly 
favorable  to  candidates  of  that  stamp.  It  may  have  been 
warrantable  also  to  expect  that  the  tanners  and  curriers  of 
Bermondsey  would  look  kindly  upon  a  candidate  connected 
with  the  manufacture  of  shoe-leather.  In  fact,  had  George 
Odger  been  simply  pitted  against  Colonel  Beresford,  there 
is  not  the  least  doubt  that  he  would  at  this  moment  have 
been  sitting  as  Member  for  Southwark.  We  are  sorry  to 
have  to  charge  a  gentleman  deservedly  so  popular  on  other 
grounds  as  the  last  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  with  the  con- 
trary result.  Yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  Sir  Sydney 
Waterlow  insisted  ujDon  going  to  the  poll  when  it  was 
known  that  his  chance  was  doubtful  ;  and  although  he 
withdrew  in  favor  of  George  Odger,  he  did  not  take  the 
step  until  he  had  brought  up  a  sufficient  number  of  Liberal 
v'oters  to  the  poll  to  make  it  quite  certain  the  Tory  must 
win.  Beresford  was  encouraged  to  come  forward  by 
Waterlow's  persistence  in  going  to  the  poll  in  competition 
with  George  Odger ;  and  was  encouraged  to  persevere  by 
the  large  number  of  votes  thrown  away  upon  the  Alderman. 
Had  the  latter  retired  when  the  three  Liberal  members 
consulted  first  advised  him,  George  Odger  would  have  got 


GEORGE    ODGER.  343 

in  ;  but  Sir  Sydney  gave  to  the  Tory  the  full  benefit  of  an- 
other hour,  and  Colonel  Beresford  the  seat.  The  numbers 
were,  for  Beresford,  4,686  ;  for  George  Odger,  4,382  ;  for 
Waterlow,  2,966. 

"  These  figures  indicated  so  clearly  the  favor  of  the 
borough  towards  George  Odger,  that,  when,  in  the  follow- 
ing month  he  offered  himself  for  Bristol,  the  wisdom  of  the 
step  was  called  in  question  by  some  of  his  sincerest  and 
most  earnest  friends.  Here,  as  at  Stafford,  the  Liberal  to  be 
selected  as  candidate  for  the  seat  vacated  by  the  decease 
of  Mr.  Henry  Berkeley  was  made  the  subject  of  a  pre- 
liminary test  ballot.  Those  excepted  who  had  plumped  for 
Mr.  Miles,  Tory  candidate  at  the  preceding  election,  each 
elector  received  a  perforated  card  bearing  in  different 
colors  the  names  of  the  three  candidates,  Robinson,  Hodg- 
son, and  George  Odger.  The  balloting  was  then  carried 
out  with  admirable  order  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Crossley,  of  Manchester,  and  of  Mr.  Charles  Godwin. 
I'he  result  was  for  Robinson,  4,558  ;  for  Hodgson,  2,761  ; 
for  George  Odger,  1,361,"* 

At  the  last  general  election  Mr.  Odger  redeemed  his 
promise  to  stand  for  Southwark  again,  but  under  the  re- 
action that  took  place  he  was  unsuccessful — the  Liberal 
vote  being  again  divided. 

Mr.  Odger  has  naturally  been  a  leading  spirit  in  the 
"  Labor  Representation  Society."  He  has  also  served  for 
the  last  four  years  on  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the 
Trades'  Union  Congress,  a  body  charged  with  watching 
and  resisting  class  legislation  in  the  British  Parliament. 
The  Positivist  writers  Frederic  Harrison  and  Henr)-  Comf>- 

*  "  Labor  Portrait  Gallery." 


344  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES, 

ton,  with  others,  have  served  as  advisory  members  of  the 
same  committee.  Mr.  Odger's  is  a  well  known  figure  in  the 
lobbies  of  the  House  of  Commons  ;  and  he  is  there  treated 
with  uniform  respect.  His  ability  is  admitted  and  his  influ- 
ence courted  or  feared.  At  a  great  meeting  called  at  Hyde 
Park,  in  the  summer  of  1873,  in  regard  to  the  so-called 
Labor  Laws  then  under  consideration,  Mr.  Odger  made  a 
speech  which  is  spoken  of  as  "  a  fair  example  of  the  man- 
ner and  spirit  in  which  he  handles  the  most  exciting  topics 
of  common  interest  of  the  working  classes.  For  them  he 
claimed  a  full  share  of  credit  as  to  the  high  place  that 
England  occupies  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  ;  and  for  them 
also,  he  resented  the  indignity  by  which  they  had  been  re- 
paid in  home-made  laws  dooming  them  to  a  position  of  in- 
jury and  degradation  worse  than  they  had  ever  known  be- 
fore. If  Englishmen  feel  a  law  to  be  harsh  and  oppres- 
sive, they  openly  proclaim  the  fact,  and,  by  rational  discus, 
sion  among  themselves,  lead  each  other  along  the  safe  and 
open  path  of  manifest  reason.  Why,  asked  George  Odger, 
should  a  workman  be  sent  to  prison  for  the  violation  of  a 
contract  with  the  master,  and  the  master  be  allowed  at 
pleasure  to  break  his  engagement  with  him  ?  And  there 
must  be  many,  even  in  the  master  class  itself,  who  see 
plainly  that  without  any  furthisr  extension  or  more  equal 
distribution  of  the  franchise  these  cruel  and  one-sided  laws 
cannot  long  be  kept  on  the  Statute  Book."  * 

The  last  sentence  was  almost  prophetic  ;  within  two 
years  these  laws  have  been  rescinded.  The  London 
Beehive  of  August  7,  1875,  contains  a  ver)^  clear  presenta- 
tion from  the  pen  of  Frederic  Harrison  of  the  legislation 
which  the  Disraeli  ministry  have  carried.  He  says  that  it  is— 


(GEORGE    ODGER.  345 

"i.  General  abolition  of  special  legislation  against 
workmen  as  a  class. 

"2.  Redress  of  the  ancient  rule  that  breach  of  contract 
by  a  working  man  is  a  crime. 

"3.  Practical  as  well  as  nominal  equality  between  the 
employer  and  the  employed  as  to  their  contracts. 

"4,  Redress  of  specific  enforcement  of  a  workman's 
contract  as  carried  out  by  the  Act  of  1857. 

"5.  Reform  in  the  application  of  the  doctrine  of  con- 
spiracy to  all  disputes  between  employer  and  employed. 

"6.  Repeal  of  the  special  Criminal  Law  Amendment 
Act  applying  to  workmen. 

"7.  Specific  legalization  of  attending  {i.e..  picketing) 
when  done  in  order  merely  to  obtain  or  communicate  in- 
formation." 

Mr.  Harrison  adds  "  the  principles  contained  in  the 
two  new  Bills  virtually  exhaust  all  the  points  for  which  the 
workmen  have  long  contended.  I  am  far  from  saying  that 
all  of  these  hav'^e  been  carried  out  in  a  way  that  excludes 
all  possible  evil ;  but  it  is  clear  that  in  principle  every  one 
of  them  has  been  distinctly  affirmed.  There  has  been,  one 
must  say,  a  scrupulous,  indeed  as  between  the  rival  par- 
ties, at  times  a  jealous  and  most  pharisaical  eagerness  to 
abolish  the  very  shadow  or  semblance  of  partiality  from 
the  statute-book.  But  this  very  anxiety  testifies  to  the 
genuine  desire  of  the  Home  Office  to  remove  every  sym- 
bol of  offence.  It  is  most  significant  that  the  phrase  '  em- 
ployers and  workmen  '  take  the  place  of  '  master  and  ser- 
vant.' *  *  *  'This  marks  the  opening  of  a  new  era 
and  a  new  spirit  in  the  governing  class." 

*"  Labor  Portrait  Gallery." 
15* 


34^)  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Emphatic  praise  is  accorded  to  Mr.  Mundella  for  his 
"  untiring  and  ahiiost  single-handed  labors  *  *  for 
many  years,  and  also  for  the  tact  and  patience  with  which 
he  *  *  managed  the  protracted  transformations  through 
which  the  two  Bills  passed  before  they  became  law."  On 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic  it  is  hardly  possible  to  appreciate 
the  experiences  and  feelings  of  men,  who,  like  George 
Odger,  have  for  so  many  years  fought  an  apparently  almost 
hopeless  fight  against  class  rules  and  social  oppression 
and  political  disability,  as  they  see  their  cause  growing 
daily,  and  feel  that,  one  after  another,  the  barriers  in  the 
path  of  "government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  people,"  are  being  swept  away  forever. 


XX. 


Joseph    Chamberlain. 


HE  Mayor  of  Birmingham  is  regarded  by  all 
parties  in  England  as  a  man  of  marked  promise, 
though  his  future  value  is  to  be  best  estimated  by 
the  opinions  of  those  who  differ  from  him.  A  representa- 
tive man  in  the  best  sense  of  the  well-to-do  English  middle- 
class,  Mr.  Chamberlain  has  already  achieved,  without  any 
fortuitous  aids,  a  position  of  considerable  influence.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  his  opinions  are  largely  instrumen- 
tal in  moulding  the  demands  of  advanced  Radical  or 
Liberal  politics  in  Great  Britain. 

Born  in  London,  July,  1836,  Mr.  Chamberlain  has 
at  the  age  of  thirty-nine,  achieved  a  prominence  unusual 
in  Great  Britain  for  a  man  heretofore  comparatively  un- 
known and,  without  those  advantages  of  birth  or  liberal 
culture  which  tell  so  forcibly  there.  He  was  educated  at 
an  Academy  School,  connected  with  the  London  Univer- 
sity from  which  it  is  named.     He  is  a  leading  lay  mem- 


348  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ber  of  the  Unitarian  denomination  —  a  fact  which  in 
itself  has  had  a  considerable  influence  on  his  public 
career.  At  twenty  years  of  age  Mr.  Chamberlain  made 
his  permanent  residence  in  Birmingham,  becoming  a  part- 
ner in  the  firm  of  Nettlefold  &  Chamberlain,  screw  manu- 
facturers. From  this  establishment,  after  a  prosperous 
career,  he  recently  retired  in  1875,  with  independent  means, 
to  expend  thenceforward  his  time  and  energies  in  the  pub- 
lic service. 

Devoting  himself  to  business  with  strictness  and  apti- 
tude, Mr.  Chamberlain  did  not  enter  political  life  until 
1868,  at  the  age  of  32,  though  he  had  been  known  before 
that  as  a  man  of  large  reading  and  close  application,  and 
moreover  as  a  good  public  speaker,  clear-headed  thinker, 
and  forcible  writer.  He  became  conspicuous  at  a  time 
when  a  vigorous  effort  was  being  made  to  secure  a  Conser- 
vative triumph  in  the  famous  borough  of  which  he  is  now 
the  chief  executive  officer.  But  he  was  more  widely  known 
in  the  two  following  years  from  his  connection  with  the 
National  Education  League,  as  the  Chairman  of  its  Execu- 
tive Committee.  Since  then  no  Radical  movement  is 
counted  complete  without  the  name  of  Mr.  Cham.berlain 
as  one  of  its  prominent  friends  and  advocates.  He  is 
in  person  rather  tall,  and  sinewy,  with  a  long  head  and 
face,  bold,  high  forehead,'  strong  features,  fresh  complexion, 
clear  bright  eyes,  and  light  brown  hair,  and  the  impression 
that  he  makes  is  that  of  being  a  younger  man  than  he  is  in 
reality  ;  while  before  an  audience  his  cheery  aspect,  readi- 
ness and  ease,  as  well  as  a  good  voice  and  a  wit  that  never 
deserts  him,  makes  his  presence  attractive  and  his  speech 
influential. 


JOSEPH    CHAMHKRI.AIN.  349 

The  bare  facts  of  his  pubHc  Hfe,  so  far,  can  be  briefly 
stated.  From  1868  to  1873,  his  position  has  been  that  of 
an  agitator,  chiefly  in  support  of  a  system  of  National 
Education  entirely  free  from  denominational  control. 

lie  is  known  also  for  the  bold  expression  of  advan- 
ced politics  —  to  the  extent  even  of  being  regarded  by 
many  as  a  supporter  of  Charles  Bradlaugh  and  his 
Rcfuiblican  agitation.  So  generally  did  this  opinion  pre- 
vail, that  when  on  the  3rd  of  November,  1874,  it  became 
necessaiy  for  Mr.  Chamberlain  as  Mayor  of  Birmingham  to 
officially  welcome  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  that  borough,  as 
well  as  to  act  the  host  at  a  banquet  in  his  honor,  there  was 
a  degree  of  curiosity  aroused,  almost  national  in  its  extent, 
as  to  how  he  would  demean  himself.  His  speech  was  not 
Republican  in  character,  nor  did  it  fail  in  those  general 
expressions  of  loyalty  which  form  part  of  the  parapher- 
nalia of  official  life  in  Great  Britain,  though  as  far  removed 
from  the  adulation  common  among  municipal  officials  when 
in  the  presence  of  Royalty.  In  fact  the  Mayor's  speech 
was  a  genial  and  manly  recognition  of  the  gentleman  whose 
dignities  and  position,  as  the  Heir  to  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain,  demanded  at  least  the  outward  respect  that  was 
paid.  Some  criticism  was  made  of  Mr.  Chamberlain's  at- 
titude. He  himself  seems  to  have  felt  the  necessity  of 
correcting  the  wide  spread  belief  that  he  was  an  avowed 
Republican  in  principle.  A  short  time  before  the  Royal 
reception  he  made  a  brief  speech  at  a  dinner  held  in  his 
honor,  and  in  defining  his  position  he  said  he  had  no  ob- 
jection to  admit  that  he  was  a  Republican,  if  they  would 
allow  him  to  state  what  a  Republican  was.  If  it  meant 
faith  in   representative  institutions,  and  a  government  in 


350  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIESc 

which  merit  is  preferred  to  birth,  then  he,  in  common  Nith 
nearly  all  the  greatest  thinkers  of  the  country,  held  it  to 
be  the  best,  at  least  in  theory  for  a  free  and  intelligent 
people.  But,  he  continued,  "  I  have  never,  in  public  or 
in  private,  advocated  Republicanism  for  this  country.  We 
may  be  tending  in  that  direction,  but  I  hold  that  the  time 
has  not  arrived  yet,  even  if  it  ever  arrives  ;  and  I  hold  also 
that  Radicals  and  Liberals  have  quite  enough  practical 
reform  to  strive  after  without  wasting  their  time  in  what 
seems  to  me  a  very  remote  speculation.  " 

A  leading  Republican  C.  C.  Cattell  of  Birmingham,  in 
commenting  on  this  declaration,  thinks  that  it  settles  Mr. 
Chamberlain's  position  and  adds :  "  If  at  any  time  he  ha? 
befriended  the  Republican  side,  as  a  matter  of  justice,  tha\ 
is  only  what  he  has  done  to  many  other  movements,  the. 
general  principles  and  intentions  of  which  he  may  or  may 
not  have  approved.  No  doubt  the  Republican  party 
would  gain  strength  by  having  Mr.  Chamberlain  on  their 
side  ;  but  it  is  only  a  matter  of  decency  that  they  should 
wait  till  he  so  declares  himself.  For  the  present  they 
should  treat  him  as  a  jDOSsible  future  friend." 

In  1873  he  was  unanimously  elected  President  of  the 
Birmingham  School  Board, — next  to  that  of  London,  the 
most  important  in  Great  Britain.  At  the  following  muni- 
cipal Election  he  was  chosen  Mayor  of  Birmingham  by  a 
large  majority,  and  at  the  general  Election  of  1874,  he 
contested  with  Messrs.  Mundella  and  Roebuck  the  bor- 
ough of  Sheffield.  In  announcing  his  candidature  he  made 
a  vigorous  speech,  remarkable  for  the  bold  liberal  pro- 
gramme he  advocated,  and  also  for  the  directness  with 
which  he  ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  Labor.  This  speech 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  35  I 

crave  rise  to  extended  discussion  and  criticism,  which  was 
not  lessened  by  the  tone  of  several  notably  trenchant 
articles  published  in  the  Fortnightly  Revieiu  of  about  the 
same  period.  Mr.  Chamberlain  gave  expression  in  these 
to  what  he  regarded  as  the  issues  on  which  the  Liberal 
party  should  be  recognized,  and  the  rallying  cries  under 
wliich  it  should  be  led  to  battle  again.  Amongother  critics 
was  the  venerable  Earl  Russell,  who  in  discussing  the 
cause  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  defeat,  and  the  demands  of  the 
Radical  politicians,  says  : — 

*  "  Mr.  Chamberlain,  who  is  a  leading  apostle  of  this 
school,  reminds  me,  with  his  notions  of  progress,  of  Tony 
Lumpkin,  in  the  play  of  '  She  Stoops  to  Conquer.'  I  will 
copy  part  of  a  dialogue  from  that  play,  in  which  Tony 
Lumpkin  and  his  mother  represent  tolerably  well  Mr. 
Chamberlain  and  John  Bull.  When  asked  to  describe  his 
journey.  Tony  answers  , — 

'  Tony.  You  shall  hear.  I  first  took  them  down  Feath- 
erbed Lane,  where  we  stuck  fast  in  the  mud.  I  then  rat- 
tled them  crack  over  the  stones  of  Up-and-down  Hill.  I 
then  introduced  them  to  the  gibbet  on  Heavy-tree  Heath  ; 
and  from  that,  with  a  circumbendibus,  fairly  lodged  them 
in  the  horse-pond  at  the  bottom  of  the  garden. 

'  Hast.  But  no  accident,  I  hope  ? 

'  To7iy.   No,  no,  only  mother  is  confoundedly  frightened.' 

"  So  in  this  case,  no  harm,  no  accident  has  happened, 
but  John  Bull  was  'confoundedly  frightened.'  In  fact,  he 
has  been  more  frightened  than  hurt  by  the  threats  of  the 
advanced  Liberals." 

*  "  Recollections  and  Suggestions,"  pages  343-4. 


352  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

The  Mayor  of  Birmingham  was  unsuccessful  at  Shef- 
field, standing  third  in  the  poll,  receiving  11,124  votes 
against  Roebuck's  14,193, — Mr.  Mundella  having  i2,gn 
votes.  The  large  vote  given  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  a  borough 
where  Mr.  Roebuck's  Dopularity  is  so  great  as  to  insure 
his  election  against  any  new  aspirant,  may  be  regarded  as 
an  evidence  that  under  more  favorable  conditions,  the 
National  Education  League  and  its  friends  will  be  gratified 
by  seeing  one  of  its  most  vigorous  leaders  seated  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  work  it  has  undertaken  is  of  great 
importance,  and  all  the  energy  of  its  Executive  officers  are 
in  demand.  The  activity  has  been  greatly  increased  since 
1869,  while  the  object  of  the  League  can  be  most  readily 
understood  by  quoting  its  own  declaration,  which  is  "  the 
establishment  of  a  system  which  shall  secure  the  education 
of  every  child  in  the  country." 

The  means  proposed  to  accomplish    this,  are,  that — ■ 

"  I. — Local  authorities  shall  be  compelled  by  law  to  see 
that  sufficient  school  accommodation  is  provided  for  every 
child  in  their  district. 

"2. — The  cost  of  founding  and  maintaining  such 
schools  as  may  be  required  shall  be  provided  for  by  Local 
Rates,  supplemented  by  Government  grants. 

"  3. — All  schools,  aided  by  Local  Rates,  shall  be  under 
the  management  of  the  Local  authorities,  and  subject  to 
Government  inspection. 

"  4. — All  schools  aided  by  Local  Rates  shall  be  unsec- 
tarian. 

5. — To  all  schools  aided  by  Local  Rates,  admission 
shall  be  free. 

"6. — School  accommodation  being  provided,  the  Local 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  353 

authorities  or  the  Government,  sliall  liave  power  to  com- 
pel the  attendance  of  children  of  a  suitable  age,  not  other- 
wise provided  for. " 

Perhaps  nothing  will  more  clearly  show  the  radical 
nature  of  the  foregoing  propositions,  than  a  brief  statement 
of  the  present  position  of  Education  in  England  and  of 
legislation  thereon. 

The  first  general  attempt  at  the  education  of  the  masses 
began  by  the  organization  in  1805  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  School  Society.  This  is  within  the  fold  of  the 
Church  of  England.  In  181 1,  the  National  School  So- 
ciety was  formed  by  the  dissenting  or  non-conforming 
sects.  Both  societies,  in  the  absence  of  state  machinery, 
have  been  of  great  service.  It  was  not  until  1833  that  the 
first  step  was  taken  by  the  British  Government,  in  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  Education  from  the  Privy 
Council  and  an  appropriation  of  ^20,000  to  the  schools  of 
the  two  associations.  The  same  year  saw-  the  adoption  of 
a  Factory  Bill,  reducing  the  hours  of  labor  for  children, 
which  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  steps  of  great  importance 
in  this  general  direction.  In  1842  another  act  was  passed 
forbidding  the  employment  of  children  in  coal  and  other 
mines,  and  requiring  those  of  the  permitted  age  to  attend 
school  for  a  certain  part  of  the  time.  It  was  common  be- 
fore the  passage  of  this  act  for  children  of  seven  and  five 
years,  and  even  four,  to  work  underground  from  twelve  to 
sixteen  hours  out  of  each  twenty-four.  In  1843,  the  Edu- 
cational Grant  was  increased  to  ;^3o,ooo.  At  the  time,  it 
is  stated  in  Molesworth's  "  History  of  England  from  1S30 
to  1874,"  that  there  were  1,014,193  children  growing  up 
completely  illiterate.     Another   measure   was  then  adopt- 

23 


35 4  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ed  compelling  the  education  of  pauper  children  and  those 
employed  in  factories — 'the  latter  being  brought  about  by 
fines  and  penalties  imposed  on  the  employers  who  hired 
children  without  the  proper  certificates  of  school  attend- 
ance, or  worked  them  so  as  to  render  them  unable  to  attend 
the  necessary  hours.  In  1844,  another  factory  act  required 
two  and  a  half  hours  of  daily  school  attendance  in  summer 
and  three  hours  in  winter  for  all  children  between  the 
ages  of  eight  and  thirteen,  employed  in  mill  work.  Inter- 
est gradually  increased  in  the  subject  of  popular  education, 
and  this  increase  became  more  rapid  after  the  International 
Exhibition  of  185 1.  For  the  next  fifteen  years  the  largest 
advance  was  made  in  the  direction  of  scientific  and  tech- 
nical instruction.  This  increased  interest  is  shown  by 
the  following  statement : 

"  The  annual  parliamentary  grants  to  popular  educa- 
tion in  Great  Britain,  which  amounted  to  ^30,000  in  1840, 
rose  to  ^^83,406  in  1848;  to  ;^i89,iio  in  1850  ;  to  ;^326,- 
436  in  1854;  to  ^668,873  in  1858  ;  to  ;^774,743  in  1862; 
in  1863,  the  grant  was  reduced  to  ^721,386  ;  in  1864,  to 
;^655,036  ;  in  1865,  to  ^^636,306  ;  in  1866,  to  ^649,006  ;  in 
1867,  to  ;^682,2oi  ;  and  in  1868,  to  ;;^68o,429  ;  while  in 
1869  it  was  raised  again  to  ;^84o,7 1 1  ;  in  1870,  to  ^914,721  j 
in  1871,  to  ;;^i, 038,624:  and  in  1872  to  ;^i,55i,56o.  The 
total  grants  for  the  financial  year  1873-4  amounted  to 
^^2,472,780,  and  for  1874-5  to  ^^2,577,389. 

"  In  the  distribution  of  the  *  *  grants  *  *  about 
seven-tenths  were  given  in  recent  years  for  examination 
and  attendance  of  jDupils,  two-tenths  as  stipends  and  salaries 
to  teachers,  and  one-tenth  spent  in  administration  and  for 
building  schools.     The  income  from  the  fees  paid  by  the 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  355 

children  in  the  elementary  schools  amounted,  on  the  aver- 
age of  the  last  five  years,  to  less  than  a  sixth  of  the  sums 
voted  by  Parliament."* 

When  the  first  national  education  act  was  passed,  the 
cost  of  the  Elementary  schools  in  England,  aided  by  Gov- 
ernment grants,  was  ;{J'i,483,472.  They  numbered  8,281, 
with  accommodations  for  1,878,584  pupils,  and  showed  an 
average  daily  attendance  of  1,152,389.  By  the  actfor  Pub- 
lic Elementary  Education  it  is  ordered  that  there  shall  "  be 
provided  for  every  school  district  a  sufficient  amount  of 
accommodation  in  public  elementary  schools  available  for 
all  the  children  resident  in  such  district,  for  whose  ele- 
mentary education  efiicient  and  suitable  provision  is  not 
otherwise  made.  It  is  enacted  further  that  all  children 
attending  these  *  public  elementary  schools',  whose  parents 
are  unable,  from  poverty,  to  pay  anything  tow-ards  their 
education,  shall  be  admitted  free,  and  the  expenses  so 
incurred  be  discharged  from  local  rates.  The  new  schools 
are  placed  in  each  district  under  '  School  Boards',  invested 
with  great  powers,  among  others  that  of  making  it  com- 
pulsory upon  parents  to  give  all  children  between  the  ages 
of  five  and  thirteen  the  advantages  of  education. "t 

The  general  control  of  this  system  is  under  the  Com- 
mittee of  Education  of  the  Privy  Council  ;  Lord  Sandon 
being  Vice-President  under  the  Disraeli  Ministry,  as  was 
the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Forste»,  M.  P.,  under  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Premiership.  This  department  determines  the  accommo- 
dation required.  It  apportions  the  grants ;  approves  or 
rejects  the  resolution  of  the  Local  School  Board  to  enforce 
a  compulsory  rule  ;  directs  the  times,  etc.,  of  election  for 
*  Martin's  Year  Book,  1S75,  PP-  212-213.  t  Id.,  p.  212. 


35 6  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

members  of  such  Board  ;  determines  where  they  are  ne- 
cessary, which  is  to  be  judged  by  the  deficiency  existing  and 
wishes  of  the  rate-payers.  The  Boards  are  elected  for 
three  3'ears.  The  cumulative  vote  is  applied  in  the  Elec- 
tions and  no  restrictions  provided,  as  to  the  candidacy  of 
either  ladies  or  non-residents.  The  Boards  have  power  to 
determine  the  amount  of  school  fees  or  remit  them  alto- 
gether, for  a  period  not  exceeding  six  months  ;  it  may  in 
some  cases  aid  in  feeding  the  poorer  children :  it  has  the 
general  maintenance  of  the  schools,  can  purchase  sites  and 
erect  buildings.  How  rapid  has  been  the  growth  of  these 
elementary  schools  may  be  seen  from  the  following  facts  : 

In  187 1-2,  the  schools  under  government  inspection 
numbered  9,854  ;  the  children  in  them,  1,336,000  ;  School 
Boards  82. 

In  1872-3,  the  schools  numbered  11,094;  the  children 
1,482,000  ;  the  School  Boards  520  ;  children  at  schools 
where  compulsory  attendance  was  enforced,  70,000. 

In  1873-4,  schools  12,246,  children  1,679,000;  School 
Boards  838  ;  pupils  under  compulsory  attendance  138,000. 

In  August  1874,  the  Inspectors'  reports  showed  that 
there  were  1,727,275  pupils  in  attendance  at  the  Elemen- 
tary Schools.  The  number  of  School  Boards  in  October  of 
that  year  was  854.  It  is  estimated  there  will  be,  at  the 
end  of  the  school  year  1875-6,  not  less  than  2,057,567  pu- 
pils under  the  new  educational  policy,  in  England  and  Wales 
alone.  In  Scotland,  the  number  of  scholars  is  stated  at 
342,847,  and  in  Ireland,  there  were  on  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1874,  7,257  schools  with  an  enrolment  of  1,006,511 
pupils,  and  an  average  daily  attendance  of  395,390.  It 
was   stated  by  Lord  Sandon  that,  before   the   year   1875 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  357 

closed,  accomodation  would  have  been  provided  for  every 
child  of  school  age  in  the  United  Kingdom.  This  would, 
it  is  estimated,  give  2,500,000  places  in  schools  receiving 
government  grants ;  in  others,  not  receiving  such  grants, 
but  inspected  and  passed  as  efificent,  1,000,000 ;  in  Board 
Schools,  500,000.  This  supply  would  be  ample,  and 
without  the  enforcement  of  compulsory  attendance,  it  is 
estimated,  one-third  of  those  seats  would  be  daily  unoccu- 
pied. The  battle  is  really  turning  on  this  point, — the  anti- 
denominational  issue,  though  discussed,  not  being  as  vig- 
orously pressed.  Out  of  a  total  population  of  22,712,266 
in  England,  only  10,818,825  are  included  within  the  juris- 
diction of  School  Boards ;  and  of  these  the  number  to 
whom  by-laws  for  eiiforcing  school  attendance  apply  is 
9,538,971.  Compulsion  is  now  the  law  for  rather  less  than 
forty-two  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population,  and  for  about 
seventy-nine  per  cent,  of  the  town  population.  In  many 
places  Boards  have  been  formed  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  enforce  the  attendance  of  children  in  schools  of  which 
the  supply  was  already  sufficient.  It  is  regarded  however 
as  very  costly  machinery  for  the  purpose. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  represents  very  forcibly,  in  his  speeches 
and  writings,  the  hostility  roused  at  the  compromise  made 
by  Mr.  Forster,  in  the  act  of  1872, — a  compromise  which, 
it  is  declared,  largely  tended  to  accelerate  the  retire^ient 
of  the  Gladstone  ministry.  To  sum  up  then,  the  present 
situation  in  Great  Britain  on  the  subject  of  national  edu- 
cation, leaves  three  parties, — the  first  of  which  insists  on 
distinct  dogmatic  teaching,  the  second  contends  for  Bible 
reading  only  (  Earl  Russell  and  Liberals  of  his  school 
would  be  contented  therewith),  and  the  third  wants  instruc- 


OS- 


BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 


tion  to  be  made  secular.  The  other  issues  are  whether  the 
school  system  shall  continue  as  now,  to  be  supported  by  a 
mixed  plan  of  government  grants,  local  rates  and  tuition 
fees,  or  by  the  local  rates  only.  The  latter  is  the  demand 
of  the  League,  of  which  Mr.  Chamberlain  is  an  active 
leader.  The  difference  may  be  seen  by  the  position  and 
requirements  of  the  legislation  now  in  existence.  Under 
the  present  system,  schools  are  maintained  by  means  of 
voluntary  contributions  and  tuition  fees,  supplemented  by 
local  rates  and  government  grants.  The  rates  are  applied 
only  in  School  Board  districts.  The  schools  aided  by 
government  grants  may  be  under  public  or  private  control, 
but  must  be,  as  to  instruction,  up  to  the  parliamentary  stand- 
ard. Government  inspection  is  enforced,  not  voluntary. 
Denominational  schools  are  permitted,  but  the  system  is 
not  extended.  Religious  instruction  can  be  given,  but  the 
government  grants  or  local  rates  are  not  to  be  used  in 
support  thereof.  Children  are  not  compelled  to  be  in  at- 
tendance if  their  parents  object.  Inspection,  as  such,  by 
the  church  or  other  denomination,  is  not  permitted.  The 
Privy  Council  conjmittee  of  education  do  not  aim  to  con- 
trol or  direct,  but  only  to  supervise  and  inspect.  Com- 
pulsory attendance  can  be  enforced  only  by  the  by-laws 
of  the  several  Local  Boards,  first  approved  by  the  Privy 
Coupcil.  These  are  the  salient  features  of  the  plan  now 
in  operation. 

Mr.  Chamberlain's  activity  is  felt  in  many  directions. 
Like  other  prominent  Liberals,  whose  practical  knowledge 
rendered  them  available  for  the  service,  he  has  been  en- 
gaged as  arbitrator  in  Labor  disputes.  A  notable  case  of 
this  kind  was  the  settlement  through  him,  of  a  long  strike 


JOSEPH  chamber:  ain.  359 

in  1873-4,  between  the  employers  and  coal-miners  of  South 
StalYordshire,  over  a  question  of  reducing  wages.  Mr. 
Chamberlain's  decision  substituted  a  sliding  scale  for  a 
fixed  rate ;  the  scale  to  be  determined  by  the  price  list' 
issued  by  Earl  Dudley,  the  largest  operator  in  the  district. 
The  principle  is  the  same  as  that  which  the  anthracite  mi- 
ners of  Pennsylvania  have  sought  to  maintain,  and  against 
the  overthrow  of  which  they  were  on  strike  for  several 
months  of  1875. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  has  also  been  an  early  and  liberal 
contributor  to  the  "Agricultural  Laborers  Union"  agi- 
tation, and  he  is  regarded  by  its  journal  the  "  Laborers' 
Union  Chronicle,"  as  one  of  their  best  friends.  He  gives 
his  support  and  presence  to  the  aid  of  co-operative  efforts 
and  meetings.  At  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Birming- 
ham Town  Hall,  November  25th,  1874,  to  urge  a  plan  of 
productive  co-operation,  the  Mayor  presided,  and  declared 
in  his  speech,  that  such  experiments  were  desirable  quite 
as  much  in  the  interests  of  employers,  as  in  the  interests 
of  the  employed.  If  working-men  could  really  success- 
fully conduct  on  their  own  account  complicated  manufac- 
tures, they  would  learn  on  the  one  hand  to  appreciate  the 
difficulties  which  frequently  beset  employers,  and  the  ob- 
jects by  which  capitalists  were  trammelled  ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  they  would  do  a  great  deal  towards  settling  the 
vexed  question  of  what  was  the  fair  proportion  in  which 
profit  should  be  divided  between  labor  and  capital.  He 
held  however  that  the  right  principle  of  co-operation  as 
applied  to  manufacture,  was  that  when  a  fair  market  wage 
had  been  paid  to  the  laborers,  and  when  a  fair  market  in- 
terest  had  been  paid   to   those   who   found  the   capital, 


360  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

whether  they  were  working  men,  or  capitalists,  or  anything 
else,  all  surplus  should  be  equally  divided  between  both 
classes. 

There  were  two  advantages  which  would  follow  this, 
and  they  were  practical  advantages  :  In  the  first  placet 
the  working  people  in  such  a  concern  were  not  tied  down 
by  any  hard  and  fast  line  called  the  rule  of  supply  and 
demand,  since  there  was  no  limit  to  the  wages  they  might 
possibly  earn  ;  but  they  would  depend  in  a  great  measure 
upon  their  own  exertions, — they  could  earn  something 
above  the  fixed  rate,  if  they  gave  their  minds  to  it.  In  the 
second  place,  inasmuch  as  all  the  work-people  in  such  a 
concern  would  be  partners  in  it,  every  man  among  them 
would  have  a  direct  interest  in  its  success,  and  each,  in 
his  own  way,  would  do  something  to  secure  it.  In  making 
such  an  experiment,  there  were  three  conditions  which  he 
thought  necessary  to  success.  In  the  first  place,  they  must 
choose  their  ablest,  their  best  men,  as  their  managers. 
They  must  bear  in  mind  that  a  man  might  be  a  capital 
workman,  and  a  clever  fellow,  and  yet  might  not  possess 
the  peculiar  talent  which  they  called  business  capacit)', 
and  which,  he  believed,  was  just  as  much  a  special  gift 
as  the  taste  for  music  or  the  taste  for  drawing. 

When  they  had  foud  their  good  managers,  it  was  no  use 
attempting  to  get  them  below  the  market  price  ;  and  if 
they  were  ungenerous  in  this  respect,  they  might  be  sure 
that  they  would  not  rivet  the  interests  of  those  men  to 
theirs,  and  they  would  be  certain  to  be  deprived  of  their 
serviced  just  when  they  were  becoming  most  useful  to  them. 
And  lastly  when  they  had  got  a  good  manager  and  paid 
him  well,  they  must  give  him  their  full  and  complete  confi- 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  36 1 

dence.  They  must  be  prepared  for  bad  times,  for  there 
were  fluctuations  even  in  the  most  successful  business  ;  and 
must  express  and  show  always  a  generous  and  loyal  confi- 
dence in  those  whom  they  had  selected  to  guide  their 
councils  and  to  manage  their  business. 

The  political  opinions  and  character  of  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain have,  however,  become  most  widely  known  in  England 
through  the  vigorous  articles  prepared  by  him  and  pub- 
lished in  the  FortnigJitly  Review  of  1873.  It  is  these  pa- 
pers which  have  aroused  the  most  admiration  and  criticism, 
according  as  the  reader's  opinions  were  or  were  not  in 
harmony  with  the  writer's.  That  they  were  not  regarded  as 
politic  or  wise  by  the  more  moderate  Liberals,  or  approved 
by  oldtime  and  honored  leaders  like  Mr.  Bright,  was  evident 
from  the  letters  of  the  accomplished  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Iribune,  Mr.  G.  W.  Smalley,  who  represents 
more  closely  even  than  English  writers  do,  the  opinions 
held  by  the  persons  indicated. 

But  the  articles  themselves  stamp  Mr.  Chamberlain  as 
a  man  of  unusual  force,  and  their  appearance  was  oppor- 
tune, as  the  Liberal  party  had  practically  broken  to  pieces 
for  want  of  salient  policy.  In  the  place  of  compromise 
and  temporizing,  which  is  the  usual  course  pursued  by 
English  statesmen,  it  had  been  found  that  the  Conserva- 
tive party,  under  Mr.  Disraeli's  leadership,  was  capable  of 
making  almost  as  rapid  strides  as  the  Liberals  under  Mr. 
Gladstone,  and  that  when  so  moving  of  late  years,  they 
have  been  more  successful,  in  that  they  could  utilize  all 
the  arduous  preparatoiy  labors  of  their  opponents  to  help 
their  eleventh-hour  efforts.  Mr.  Chamberlain  urged  the 
need  of  decisive  action  ;  pointed^  out  issues,  and  formulated 
16 


362  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

new  rallying  cries.  The  paper,  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Liberal  party  and  its  leaders,"  appeared  in  the  Fortnightly 
of  September,  1873,  and  the  second  under  the  caption  of 
"The  next  page  of  the  Liberal  programme,"  appeared  in 
October  of  the  same  year. 

The  first  paper  was,  as  its  title  indicates,  a  review  of 
Liberal  measures  and  men.  After  showing  the  internal 
causes  of  party  dissatisfaction  and  emphasizing  the  services 
of  the  Gladstone  ministiy,  the  foremost  of  which  were  stated 
to  be  the  pacification  of  Ireland  and  the  disestablishment 
of  the  Irish  State  Church,  Mr.  Chamberlain  proceeded  to 
show  the  reasons  for  the  grave  discontent,  which  he  de- 
clared to  exist  in  the  party.  These  are  the  failure  to  rectify 
unjust  working  class  legislation  ;  to  extend  the  county 
franchise,  and  the  paltry  compromise  on  the  matter  of 
education.  With  regard  to  these  issues,  Mr.  Chamberlain 
said  in  his  first  article,  that — 

"  Of  one  thing  we  may  be  certain — that  if  we  continue  much 
longer  to  flaunt  our  wealth  and  luxury  in  the  face  of  a  vast  population, 
whose  homes  would  disgrace  a  barbarous  country,  whose  lack  of  cul- 
ture and  education  leaves  them  a  prey  to  merely  animal  instincts,  and 
who  find  it  difficult,  and  often  impossible,  to  procure  the  barest  neces- 
saries of  life,  we  shall  be  startled  some  day  by  the  abrupt  and  possibly 
inconvenient  accomplishment  of  reforms  which  will  throw  into  the 
shade  the  splendid  achievements  of  a  Ministry  that  now  confines  itself 
to  preparing  bills  which  are  meant  to  be  withdrawn,  and  which  pass 
into  the  limbo  of  unaccomplished  legislation,  unwept,  unhonored,  and 
unsung." 

He  then  referred  to  optimistic  views  that  were  broadly 
put  forth  on  the  hustings  and  said  in  reply — 

"It  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty  what  will  be  the  exact  form 
of  this  protest  against  the  ever-recurring  assumption  that  the  time  has 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  363 

come  when  statesmen  may  rest  from  their  labors  and  parties  be  at  peace, 
but  it  must  include  some  or  all  of  the  following  ideas  which  have  been 
exercising  a  growing  attraction  for  political  thinkers,  and  which  are 
summed  up  in  the  sentence  which  may  perhaps  form  the  motto  of  the 
new  party — Free  Church,  Free  Land,  Free  Schools,  and  Free  Labor." 

Following  this  attractive  and  alliterative  rallying  cry — 
one  which  seems  to  have  taken  hold  of  the  Radical  masses 
— the  writer  proceeded  to  define  in  detail  what  is  to  be 
aimed  at  under  each  division  of  the  motto  he  shaped,  and 
what  are  the  forces  that  will  rally  around  the  new  Liberalism 
he  advocates.  That  of  a  "  Free  Church,"  will  unite  the 
divided  Non-Conformists,  and  the  working  class — the  lat- 
ter having  however  no  sympathy  with  the  theological 
plilse  which  will  attract  the  former.  A  demand  will 
be  made  that  disendowment  shall  accompany  disestab- 
lishment, and  the  claim  will  be  eagerly  put  forth  that  in 
"  the  nation  as  a  whole  the  control  and  management  of 
the  vast  funds  which  have  been  monopolized  and  misap- 
propriated by  an  ecclesiastical  organization  " — shall  here- 
after  be   vested.     "  Free  land,"  writes  Mr.  Chamberlain, 

"  Involving  the  reform  of  laws,  passed  admittedly  in  the  supposed 
interest  of  a  very  limited  class,  and  operating,  notwithstanding,  to 
their  injury,  while  materially  diminishing  the  happiness  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  rest  of  the  population,  will  have  to  be  contended  for  at 
the  same  time  and  wrested  from  the  same  political  opponents." 

He  speaks  of  "wealthy  legislators,  acred  up  to  their  eyes  " 
who  are  also  "  stolid  defenders  "  of  the  establishment,  ex- 
pecting to  find  in  "  that  Church  the  most  zealous  upholders 
of  their  privileges  and  monopoly."     He  declares  that : — 

"  The  English  land  system  has  no  parallel  in  the  world.  It  makes 
proprietorship  a  luxury,  attainable  only  by  a  few,  and  seems  ingeniously 


364  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

designed  to  discourage  profitable  investment  in  the  soil,  and  involve 
landlord  and  tenant  alike  in  a  suicidal  struggle  to  exhaust  the  land, 
during   the   existence  of  their  limited  interests." 

"  Free  Schools  may  possibly,"  he  thinks,  "  have  to  wait 
longer  for  their  general  acceptance  and  development,  al- 
though the  progress  of  compulsory  education  is  certain  to 
create  and  stimulate  the  demand  for  them."  It  is  just  that 
education  should  be  a  national  charge  borne  equally  by  all 
the  people.  There  is  a  fashionable  political  economy 
"  very  popular  in  the  parliament  of  the  rich,  which  has 
made  the  discovery  that  such  a  wide  distribution  of  a 
charge  which  is  to  secure  a  universal  benefit,  is  calculated 
to  degrade  and  pauperize  those  whom  it  relieves  from  a 
heavy  and  onerous  payment,  levied  at  a  time  when  they 
are  least  able  to  sujDport  it."  This  is  "  the  gospel  of  sel- 
fishness," and  teaches  that  philanthropy  has  performed 
its  duty  "  when  it  buttons  up  the  breeches  pocket."  The 
"  superfine  philosophy  "  involved,  will  however  be  "  repudi- 
ated as  suddenly  as  it  has  been  accepted  by  the  great  body 
of  politicians  who  obtain  their  opinions  ready-made,  and 
change  them  as  soon  as  they  discover  they  do  not  fit  the 
humor  of  the  majority." 

Mr.  Chamberlain's  judgment  is  vindicated  by  later 
events  in  England,  when  he  declared  that  : — 

"  Free  Labor — the  last  posirion  named  in  the  Quadrilateral  which 
the  Irreconcilables  attack — will  probably  be  the  first  to  be  gained 
by  them.  The  questions  involved  admit  of  only  one  possible  solu- 
tion.   *    * 

The  legislative  changes  sought  by  the  workmen  are  surely  moderate 
enough.  They  seem  to  be  confined  to  three  points  : — the  amendment 
of  the  law  of  conspiracy,  the  operation  of  which  has  been  generally 
admitted  to  be  unjust; — the  alteration  of  those  clauses  of  the  Criminal 


JOSEPH    CHAMBERLAIN.  365 

Law  Amendment  Act  which  wound  the  self-respect  and  offend  the 
common  sense  of  the  men  by  creating  new  crimes  which  are  incapable 
of  clear  definition,  while  at  the  same  time  they  are  of  no  real  value  to 
emjiloyers  in  any  serious  struggle  ; — and  the  abolition  of  imprisonment 
for  breach  of  contract  where  no  malicious  injury  is  intended  to  person 
or  property.  It  can  hardly  be  worth  while  to  perpetuate  ill-feeling  and 
irritation  for  the  sake  of  defending  such  a  paltry  stake  as  this." 

During  the  Parliamentary  session  of  1875,  the  Con- 
servative ministry  has  utihzed,  for  its  own  advantage,  the 
long  discussion  of  these  questions ;  and,  under  the  leader 
ship  of  Mr.  Cross,  Secretary  of  State  for  Home  affairs,  has 
succeeded  in  perfecting  a  measure  which  almost  entirely 
sets  at  rest  the  mooted  points  indicated  in  the  foregoing. 
Mr.  Chamberlain's  second  paper  was  published  after  the 
general  election  of  1873  had  resulted  in  returning  a  Con- 
servative majority  to  the  House  of  Commons.  In  it  he  is 
even  more  outspoken.  The  following  extract  will  illustrate 
the  style  and  directness  of  this  new  aspirant  in  the  field  of 
political  polemics.  As  to  the  causes  of  the  Liberal  defeat 
he  says  : 

"  There  are  two  popular  theories  on  the  subject.  The  Tories 
claim  pardonably  enough,  that  what  their  merits  alone  might  have 
been  unable  to  effect  was  achieved  through  the  misdeeds  of  their  op- 
ponents. According  to  this  explanation,  the  nation,  tired  of  the  plun- 
dering and  blundering  of  a  tyrannical  faction,  roused  itself  to  throw 
off  the  yoke,  and  flung  itself  with  a  sigh  of  relief  into  the  arms  of  the 
Tories.  The  Liberal  view  is  still  more  simple.  Aristides  was  ostra- 
cized because  he  was  just,  and  the  Gladstone  ministry  fell  by  its  own 
virtues.  There  is  some  truth  in  both  these  statements.  It  is  certain 
that  the  late  Government  was  thoroughly  unpopular  at  the  time  of  its 
fall ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  performed 
much  useful  work,  and  that  its  chief  measures  were  called  for  by  Liberal 
opinion,  and  if  not  perfect  exponents  of  the  wishes  of  its  constituents, 
were,  at  least,  in  the  desired  direction.      It  may  be  said  broadly,  hoW' 


366  BRIEF    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ever,  that  the  muiistry  had  offended  every  one  to  whom  change  was  ob- 
jectionable, and  that  it  made  no  bid  for  the  support  of  those  who  con- 
ceived that  further  change  was  necessary.  It  must  be  granted  that  the 
English  arc  naturally  a  Conservative  people.     We  cling  fondly  to 

'  Custom,  which  all  mankind  to  slavery  brings, 
That  dull  excuse  for  doing  silly  things,' 

and  we  are  slow  to  appreciate  and  assimilate  new  ideas.  Above  all, 
we  are  impatient  of  small  changes,  and  intolerant  of  infinitesimal  re- 
forms. It  would  be  easier  to  disestablish  the  English  Church  than  to 
clothe  the  Blue-coat  boys  in  decent  ordinary  costume,  while  it  would 
almost  be  safer  to  proclaim  a  republic  than  to  meddle  with  certain 
ignoble  petty  interests,  as,  for  instance,  the  control  and  management 
of  their  funds  by  some  of  the  City  companies.  It  was  the  evil  genius 
of  the  late  Government  which  somehow  prompted  their  interference  in 
a  hundred  minor  matters  which  involve  no  game  worth  the  candle,  but 
which  deeply  interested  the  prejudices  of  various  members  of  the  com- 
munity. Every  class  and  every  section  of  the  population  have  had 
reason  to  be  annoyed  during  the  last  few  years,  and  have  felt  perhaps 
their  wound  was  great  because  it  was  so  small.  There  has  been  too 
much  '  nagging '  in  legislation ;  and  the  Imperial  Parliament,  which, 
like  the  elephant's  trunk,  can  pick  up  pins  or  rend  an  oak,  has  gather- 
ed pins  enough  to  fill  a  lady's  reticule." 

Mr.  Chamberlain's  future  is  in  his  own  hands,  and  that 
which  has  been  so  well  begun,  may  be  expected  to  develop 
in  usefulness  and  power. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Aberdare,  Lord,  247. 

Adams,  Sarah  F.,  57. 

Adams,  W.  B.,  57. 

Adderiy,  Sir  Chas.,  204. 

Agricultural  Laborers,  19,  45,  6S,  7S, 
iir,  143,  1S2,  186,  2S0,  2S3,  2S4,  285, 
292,  294,  300,  302,  319,  329,  359. 

Albert,  Prince,  60. 

Alfred  the  Great,  King,  77,  104. 

Alsop,  Rebecca,  122. 

Alsop,  T.  122. 

Althorp,  Lord,  237. 

"  Ahon  Locke,"  /oo. 

American  Civil  War,  236. 

Angerstein,  ISIr.,  74. 

Anti-Conspiracy  Committee,  270. 

Anti-Corn  Law  League,  57,  284. 

Anti-State-Church  Association,  80,  231. 

Arago,  Francis,  244. 

Arbitration,  125,  127,  12S,  182,  358. 

Arch,  Joseph,  Memoir,  275  ;  also  186, 
329- 

Arnold,  Matthew,  103. 

Arnold.  Dr.  Thos.,  103. 

Asher,  Mr.,  58. 

Ashley,  Lord,  145. 

Ashurst,  W.  H.,  58. 

"  Athenaeum,"  the,  38. 

Ayrton,  A.  S.,  271,  313. 


B. 

Baines,  Edward,  93,  94. 
Ba  1,  Friar  John,  278. 
Barmby,  Goodwyn,  58,  61. 
Bates,  Edward,  202. 
Baxter,  \V.  E.,  22. 
Beales,  Edmond,  94,  320. 
'  Beehive  Portrait  Gallery,"  83,  91,  95 

127,  15S,  16S,  1S4,    1S7,  239,  245,    246, 

248,  263,  266,  271,  2S1,  334,  341,  343. 
Beesly,  Prof.,  322. 
Beresford,  Col.,  342,  343. 
Berkeley,  Henry,  212,  343. 
Bigelow,  Erastus,  175. 
Birmingham  Political  Union,  the,  44,  259 

295. 
Bismarck,  Prince,  53,  270. 
"  Blackwood's  Magazine,"  quoted,  99. 
Board  of  Trade,  203,  204,  207. 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon  IIL,  270. 
Bonaparte,  Prince  N.  J.,  322. 
Borough  Franchise,  45,  47. 
Bouverie,  E.  P.,  ioci. 
Bowring,  Dr.,  58,  61. 
Bradlaugh,     Charles,   Memoir,  305 ; 

also  2S,  53,  54,  87,  88,  186,  265,  32S,  3 19 
Bramwell,  Baron,  321. 
Brassey,  Albert,  167. 
Brassey,  Elizabeth,  164. 
Brassey,  H.A-,  167. 


368 


INDEX. 


Brassey,  John,  164. 

Brassey  Thomas,   Memoir,    i6i  ;    also 

330. 
Brassey,  Thomas,  Senior,  162,163,164, 166. 
Brediits,  J.  P.,  246 
Brewster,  Sir  David,  244. 
Briggs  &  Sons,  175. 
Bright,  John,  16,  63,  8S,  94,  134,  1S2,  244, 

247,  250,  255,  302,  329,  330,  339,  361. 
"  British  Quarterly,"  quoted,  229,  23S. 
Brooke,  Rev.  Stopford  A.    54. 
Brookes,  H.,  290. 
Brown,  John,  34. 
Bruce   {See  Aberdare). 
Burke,  Edmund,  192. 
Burt,  Thomas,  23,  95.  142,  147,    148,  i-5-r, 

152,  153,  i54i  158)  "59.  185- 
Bury,  Lord,  35. 
Butcher,  Mr.,  290. 
Butler,  B.  F.,  290. 
Buxton,  Fowell,  67. 


Cade,  Jack,  27S. 

Cairns,  Prof.,  19. 

Canterbury,  Dean  of,  234. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  19. 

Carter,    Robert     M.,     Memoir,   86; 

also  22. 
Cattell,  C.  C,  350. 
Chamberlain,    Joseph,  M.emoir,  347; 

also  23,  76,  133. 
Chamfort,  Sebastian  R.  N.,  201. 
Chartism,  305. 
Chevalier,  Michel,  244. 
Christian  Socialists,  100,  loi. 
Church  of  England,  organization  of,  231. 
Civil  List  Expenditures,  2$. 
ClarendoD,  Lord.,  272. 
Cobden,    Richard,    134,    180,    182,    244 

247. 
Cockbum,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  109. 
Cole,  Henry,  40. 
Coleridge,  Sir  J.  D.  250,  321. 
Collier,  Sir  R.,  321. 


Collings,  Jesse,  288,  289. 
"Commercial"  (Cincinnati,  U.  S.),  quot 

ed,  89,  193,  295. 
Communism,  261. 

Compulsory  Education,  356,  357,  364. 
Comte,  Auguste,  1-64. 
"  Concilation  and  Arbitration,"  127. 
Concilation,  Board  of,  182. 
Congreve,  Dr.,  322. 
Concisl.y  Thomas,  133. 
"Contemporary  Review,"  331. 
Conway,   M.   D.,  13,    17,  1%  36,   87,  89 

193,  295. 
Cooper,  Sir  Astley,  264. 
Cooper,  Bransby,  264. 
Cooper  Institute,  137. 
Cooper,  Thomas,  58,  124. 
Cooper,  William,  26. 
Co-operative  Societies,  255,  26;.  272,  273, 

359- 
Coquerel,  A.  de,  244. 
Cormenin,  L.  M.  de,  244. 
Corn  Laws,  the,  57,  2S5. 
County  Franchise,  352. 
"  Courier  -  Journal"      (Louisville,    Ky,) 

quoted,  221. 
Courtauld,  Samuel,  56. 
CowEN,  Joseph,    Memoir,  77  ;   also  76, 

93,  112,  221. 
Cowen,  Sir  Joseph,  78,  79. 
Cramer,  W.  R.,  338. 
Crawfurd,  E.  H.  J.,  321. 
Cremieux,  Adolphe,  322. 
Criminal  Law  Amendment  Act,  139,  364. 
Cross,  Mr.,  23,  68,  156,  365. 
Cumulative  Vote,  356. 

D. 

Darwin,  Chas.,  71. 
"  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  '  a+t. 
Davies,  David,  155. 
Denman,  Lord,  314. 
Dickens,  Charles,  264. 
Dilke,  Austin,  38,  39. 


INDEX. 


369 


DiLKE,  Sir  Charles  W.,  Memoir,  27  ; 
also  59,  76,  95,  141,  152,  17S,  185,  194, 
330. 

Dllke,  Lady,  50. 

Disestablishment,  24,  366. 

"  Dispatch, "    Weekly    London,  38.  39. 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  25,  29,  37,  53,  80, 
134,  '35i  193.  i94i  201.  202,  203,  302. 

Dissenters,  228. 

Dixon,  Thos.,  95  162,  288. 

"  Dod's  Parliamentary  Pocket  Compan- 
ion," 44,  59,  194. 

Dudley,  Lord,  359. 

Duncombe,  Thos.  S.,  61. 

Durham,  Earl,  80. 


Eadon,  Dr.  S.,  192. 

Eaton,  John,  137. 

Eccarius,  George  J.,  337. 

"  Ecclesiastical  Knowledge  Society," 
the,  231. 

Edict  of  Nantes,  306. 

Edinburgh,  Duke  of,  65,  312. 

Education  Bills,  14,  15,  44,  137,  139,  226, 
236,  249. 

Education,  Bureau  of,  137. 

Education  League,  53,  13S,  352. 

Education,  National,  277,  34S,  353. 

Elcho,  Lord,  156. 

Electoral  Reform  Associatior.  46. 

Elliott,  Ebenezer,  56,  57. 

"  Elsie  Venner,"  279. 

Employers  and  Workmen,  156,  345. 

Engel,   Frederic,  336. 

Engineers,  Amalgamated,  332. 

English-speaking  Communities,  Federa- 
tion of,  41. 

Epps,  Dr.,  61. 

Erskine,  Mr.  Justice,  264. 

Escott,  T.  H.  L.,  quoted,  219. 

Evans,  W.  T.,  341,  342. 

"  Examiner,"  the,  24,  25,  60. 

"  Express"  (Leeds)  the,  93. 


Factory  Health  Act,  20,  140,  353. 
Factory  Nine  Hours'  Bill,  140,  353. 
Faithful,  Mr.,  237. 
Fall  River  (Miss.)  weavers,  274 
Farley,  Augusta  A.  M.,  242. 
Fawcett,  He.vry,    Memoir,    11  ;  also 

72,  76,  140,  142,  152,  1S5.  221,  283,329, 

330. 
Fawcett,  Mrs.,  12,  20,   26,  70. 
Fawcett,  William,  26. 
Fielding,  Henry,  63. 
Fitzmaurice,  Lord  Edmund,  152 
Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  79. 
Forster,  W.  E.,  16,  94,  226,  236,  250,  302, 

355,  357- 
"  Fortnightly   Review,"  277,    351,    361, 

362. 
Foudichon,  Admiral,  322. 
Fourier,  Charles,  175. 
Fox,  Head  &  Co.,  175. 
Fox,  W.  J.,  57,  58,59. 
"  Eraser's  Magazine,"  quoted,  219. 
Frauds,  Statute  of,  69. 
Free  Church,  363. 
Friendly  Societies'  Bill,  84. 
Fugitive  Slave  Law,  86. 


"Galaxy,"  the,  quoted,  326,  32S. 

Gambetta,  Leon,  53,  322- 

Game  Laws,  53. 

Garibaldi,  General,  81,93,  247,  320. 

Garrett,  N-,  26. 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  244,  267,  26S,  269. 

George  II.,  King,  32,  312. 

George  IV-,  King,  32,  312. 

Gibson,  Milner,  321- 

Girardin,  Emile  de,  244. 

Gladstone,    Wm.  £.,  17,   28,    35,  43,  53, 

78,  80,  13.3,  139,  200,  214,  217,  234,  243 

335.  3511  355>  365- 
Goldney,  G.,  109. 


2>7^ 


INDEX. 


Goschen,  G.  J.,  250. 
Graham,  Sir  James,  61. 
"  Greater  Britain,"  40. 
Greeley,  Horace,  266,  327. 
"  Green's  History  of  the  People  of   En- 
gland," quoted,  278. 
Greening,  E.  O.,  266. 
"  Greville  Memoirs,"  60. 
Grote,  George,  60,  61. 
Gurney,  Russell,  109. 

H. 

Hall  of  Science,  261. 

Halliday,  Mr.,  148. 

Hampden,  John,  124. 

"  Hansard's  Debates,"  quoted,  43,  95. 

Harney,  G.  J.,  270. 

Harrison,  Frederic,  76,  344,  345. 

Harrison,  Maria  (Mrs.  Brassey),  165. 

Hastings,  Warren,  192. 

Haweis,  H.  P-,  54. 

Helps,  Sir  Arthur,  162,  164,  165,  174. 

Henry,  Mitchell,  136, 

"  Herald,"  New  York,  200,  202. 

Herbert,  Auberon,  35,  76,  287,  289. 

Hickson,  W.  E.,  57. 

Hill,  Luke,  6S,  69. 

Hindley.  Mr.  244. 

'■  History  li  Co-operation, "273. 

Hodgson.  K.  D.,  343. 

Holmes,  O.  W.,  279, 

Holyoake,  Austin,  54,  257,  269 

HoLYOAKE,  G.  J.,    Memoir,   253  ;    also 

58,  7I)  72>  3151  316. 
Holyoake,  Mrs.,  25S. 
Home  Rule  (Ireland),  65. 
Hood,  Thomas,  loi. 
Hope,  Samuel,  1S2. 
Horden,  Ellen  Francis,  73. 
Hotham,  George,  72. 
Howell,  George,  64,  338- 
Hughes,  John,  103. 

Hughes,   Thomas,    Memoir,   99;  also 
63,    137.  139.  255- 


Hugo,  Victor,  244,  270- 
Huguenots,  306- 
Hume,  Joseph,  61,  182- 
Hunt,  Knight,  264- 
Hunt,  Leigh,  60. 
Hunt,  Thornton.  5S,  6i- 
Hutton,  Crompton,  szi- 
Huxley,  T-  H.,  23,  71,  76- 
Hyde,  Capt-,  68- 


"  Impeachment  of  the  House  of  Bruns- 
wick," 310. 
"  Intelligencer,"  (Cambridgeshire)  the, 

57- 

International   Working-Men's    Associa- 
tion, 332,  336. 

Intoxicating  Drinks,  statistics  of,  2i6- 

Irish  Education  Bills,  16. 

Irish  State  Church,  237,  362 


Jenkins,  Edward,  2S7,  341,  342. 
"Joint  Committees,"  147. 
Jones,  Ernest,  94,  308- 
Jones,  Lloyd,  262. 

K. 

Kelly,  Lord  Chief  Baron,  321. 
Kelly,  Mr.,  182. 
Kenealy,  Dr.,  142,  323. 
Kimberly,  Lord,  297. 
Kingsley,   Charles,  too. 
Knatchbull-Hugessen,  E.  H.,  218. 
Kossuth,  Louis,  81. 

L. 

"  Laborers'  Union,"  68. 

Labor  Laws,  109,  157,  344- 

Labor  Representation  Society,  343. 

Laborers'  Association,  290. 

"  Laborers'   Union   Chronicle,"  quoted, 

286,  293,  296,  297,  359. 
Laird  &  Co.,  63. 


INDEX. 


2>1^ 


Lamnrtine,  A.  de,  244. 

Laiui  Tenure  Hills,  186,  283. 

Laiuler,  Mr.,  221. 

Langford,  Dr.,  2S8. 

Lanza,  Louis,  247. 

Lawson,  Sir  Wilfred,   Memoir,   211; 

also  185. 
Lawson,  William,  213. 
"  Leader,"  the,  58,  266,  267. 
League,  Anti-Corn-Law,  56,  284. 
Leatham,  Mr.,  94- 
Leigh,  Rev.  J.  W.,  2S9. 
Leighton,  Sir  Baldwin,  289- 
"  Liberal  Quarterly,"  57. 
"Licensed  Victuallers'  Association,"  215. 
Liddon,  Canon,  54. 
Liebig,  Justus,  244. 
Lincoln,  Bishop  of,  316. 
Lindsay,  Mr.,  63,  339- 
Linton,  W.  J.,  58,  61,  82,  265,  266. 
Liquor  Law,  Permissive,  211,  212. 
Lloyd,  Jones,  25S. 
"  Lloyd's  Register,"  205. 
Lock-outs,  125,  24S,  331. 
Lollard,  Walter,  279. 
"  London  Labor  and  the  London  Poor," 

lOI- 

"  Lothair,"  53. 

Louis,  Alfred  H.,  42. 

Lowe,  Robert,  14,  250. 

Lubbock,  Harriet,  72. 

Lubbock,     Sir    Johm,    Memoir,    71  ; 

also  330 
Lubbock,  Sir  John  W-,  72. 
Lucraft,  Mr.,  1S4. 
Ludlow,  Mr.,  loi,  iii. 


M. 


McCarthy,  Justin,  326,  327,  330. 
Macdonald,     Alexander,     Memoir, 

142  ;  also  23,  95,  141,  185,  221,  341- 
r.ianchtstei  Education  Union,  109. 
Manchester  School,  the,  23,  56. 
Manners,  Lord  John,  212. 


Manning,  Cardinal,  186,  329. 

Mansfield,  Lord,  228. 

Martin,  Baron,  321. 

"  Martin's  Year  Book,"  quoted,  355. 

Marvell,  Andrew,  124. 

Marx,  Dr.  Karl,  336. 

ALiry,  Queen,  306. 

"  Master  and    Servant  Act,"   68,   109 

139.  345- 
Mathew,    Father,   214. 
Maurice,    Rev.  F.  D..  101,  102. 
Maxse,  Capt.,  66. 
Mayhew  Brothers,  loi. 
Mazzini,  Joseph,  57,  5S,  61,  81,  265,  27O; 

320. 
Mechanics'  Institutes,  90,  123,  258,  259. 
"Men    and    Manner    in    Parliament," 

quoted,  14,  34,  38,  134,  154,  225. 
"  Mercury'"  (Leeds)  the,  93, 
MiALL,  Edward,    Memoir,    224  ;  alsc 

16,  183,  194,  250. 
Miall,  Moses,  230. 
Miall,  Sarah,  230. 
Miles,  Mr.,  343. 

Mill,  J.  S.,  14,  57,  67,  271,  319,  321. 
Mills,  Sir  Charles,  74. 
Miners'  Lockout,  248. 
Miners'  Union,  146,  319. 
Minority  Representation,  46. 
Molesworth,    Rev.    W.    N.,    256,    318, 

353- 
Montagu,  Lord,  330. 
"  Monthly  Repository,"  the,  57. 
Moody,  D.  L.,  214. 
Morgan,  Matt.,  33. 
Morley,  John,  181,  1S2,  277. 
MoRLEV,  Sami;el,   Memoir,  180 ;   alsc 

22,  221,  230. 
"  Morning  Star"  (London),  243. 
Morrison,  Walter,  255. 
Mott,  Lucretia,  244. 
Mottershead,  Thomas,  338. 
Mundella,  Anthony  John,  Memoir 

121  ;  also  22,  33,95,  182,  185,  218,   221, 

330,  35o>  352- 


372 

Mundella,  Antonio,  122. 
Mursell,  Rev.  J.  P.,  232. 

N. 


"National  Reformer,"  the,  315,  323- 
Neale,  Vansittart,  loi,  255. 
Nettlefold  &  Chamberlain,  34S. 
"Newcastle    Chronicle"    the,    77,    93> 

266. 
Newman,  Francis  A.,  265,  323. 
"New  Moral  World"  the,  262,  265. 
"News,"  Daily  (London),  39,  264,  266. 
"  Nonconfonnist,"  the,  224. 
"  Northern  Star,"  the,  262. 
"  Notes  and  Queries,"  39. 
"  Notes  on  Algeria,"  172. 

o. 

O'Connell,  Daniel,  194,  310. 

Odger,  George,  Memoir,  326  ;  also  52, 

64. 
Odger,  John,  330. 
"  Origin  and  Metamorphoses  of  Insects," 

74- 
Orsini  plot,  the,  270. 
Osborne,  Benial,  2i2' 
"  Our  Seamen,"  194,  195,  .97,  205. 
Owen,  Joseph,  22. 
Owen,  Robert,  258,  259,  262,  265. 


Packer,  Rev.  J.  G.,  307. 
"Pall-Mall  Gazette,"  the,  no. 
Pahnerston,  Lord,  134,  270,  335. 
Paie,  William,  102,  255,  259. 
Paris  Diplomatic  Congress,  244. 
Parker,  Theodore,  59,  191. 
Pauperism,  19. 
Peel,  Sir  Robert,  61. 
"  Pen  and  Pencil,"  the,  70. 
"People's  International  League,"  61. 
Permissive  Bill,  1S5,  212. 
Phillips,  Wendell,  58,  244,  258,267,  268, 
290. 


INDEX. 


"Philosophical  Radicals,"  58. 

Place,  Mr.,  60,  61. 

Playfair,  Dr.  Lyon,  76. 

Plimsoll,  Mrs.  196. 

Plimsoll  Samuel,  Memoir,   191  ;  also 

67,  84,  141,  178,  1S5. 
Plimsoll,  Thomas,  192. 
Population  of  England,  46. 
''  Portrait  Gallery"  {See  Beehive). 
"  Post"  Boston,  quoted,  212. 
Potter,  Bazley,  63,  338. 
Potter,    George,    63,  94,    127    rzS,    184, 

334- 
Primitive  Methodists,  2S9. 
Prince  Consort,  the,  60. 
"  Prince  Florestan,"   39,  44,  52,  53,  54. 
Protective  Policy,  41. 
"  Purgatory  of  Suicides,"   124. 
Pusey,  Dr.,  103. 

"  Put  Yourself  in  His  Place,"  132. 
Pyat,  Felix,  270. 

R. 

"  Radical  Reform  League,"  94. 

Railton,  E.  A-,i92. 

Railton,  Hugh,  192. 

Read,  Clare,  283. 

Reade,  Charles,  132. 

'"Reasoner,"  the,  265,  269. 

"  Red  Spectre,"  44- 

Reform  League,  65,  107,  1S5. 

"  Religious  Freedom  Society,"  the,  231. 

Republicanism   in   England,  29,  52,  319, 

327)  349>  35°- 
"Retrospective  Review,"  39. 
"  Reynolds'  Newspaper,"  54. 
Richard,  Rev.  Ebenezer,  242. 
Richard,  Henry,  Memoir,  241. 
Robinson,  Mr.,  343. 
Rochdale   Equitable   Pioneers,  the,  255 

260,  263. 
Roebuck  J.  A-,  109,    133.    '34    iJ5     '5* 

35o>  352- 
Rogers,  Mr.,  310. 


INDEX. 


373 


Rogers  Thorold,  ig,  76. 

Romilly,  Lord,  log- 

Royal  Household,  expenses  of,  27,  29- 

Ruskin,  Ji  hi>,  162. 

Russell,  Lord  John,  351,  357. 

Russell,  Scott,  40. 

S- 
Salt,  T.,  342- 
Ssndon,  Lord,  355,  356. 
Sankey,  L  D.,  214. 
Schofield,  William,  28. 
School  Boards,  1S4. 
School  Societjjs,  National,  353- 
'•  Scouring  the  White  Horse,"  104. 
Secular  Affirmation  Act,  272. 
Secularism,  265,  316,  329. 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  19S,  329. 
Shaw,  Sir  C-,  261,  262. 
Sheil,  A-rthur  Gore,  50- 
Shoemaking,  influence  of,  330. 
Smalley,  G.  W.,  quoted,  33,  65,  203,  361. 
Smith,  Goldwin,  quoted,  234. 
Smith,  Dr.  John  P.,  1S2. 
Smith,  Justice,  109. 
Smith,  Mary,  123. 
Smith,  Sydney,  39- 
Smith,  W-,  123. 
Smollett,  Tobias,  68. 
"Social  Economist,"  the,  266. 
Socialism,  100,  261- 
Solly,  Rev.  H.,  61,  290. 
"Spectator,"  London,  the,  30,  42. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  23,  71. 
"  Spirit  of  the  Age,"  the,  266. 
Spitalfields  weavers,  306. 
"  Standard,"  London,   the,  quoted,  30, 

204. 
St.  Andr^,  Chevalier,  loi- 
Stanhope,  Mr-,  22. 
Stanley,  Dr-,  103. 
Stansfeld,  James,  58,  82. 
Stein,  Baron,  319. 
Stephenson,  George,  162,  164,  258. 
Ijtmw,  Jack,  277. 


Strikes,  Lab:.r.  i>$- 
Sturge,  Joseph,  2,13,  244,  ?.\; 
Sumner,  Charles,  64    106,  i  ji 
Sydney,  Algernon,  124. 


"Tait's  Edinburgh  Magazine,''  <7. 

Talbot,  R.  A.  J.,  342. 

Talbot,  John  Y-,  74. 

Taylor,  Peter  A-,  Memoir,  s^ :   also 

28,  Si,  82,  95,  1S5,  330. 
Taylor,  Mrs,  P.  A-,  70. 
Taylor,  Peter  A.,  sen.,  56- 
Taylor,  Messrs.,  6-i 
Temperance  agitation,  the,  21A. 
Temple,  Dr-,  103. 
Tenant  Farmers,  283,  293. 
Tenant-Rights  Bill,  23. 
Tennant.  Mr-,  22. 
Thackeray,  Miss,  275. 
Thompson,  Col.  T.  P.,  56,  57. 
Thompson,  John,  84. 
"Times,"    London,    the,   quoted,    no, 

133,  186,  302. 
Tol-eration  Act,  228. 
"  Tom  Brown  at  Oxford,"  104. 
"  Tom  Brown's  School-days,"  103. 
Trades  Unions,  22,    109,    116,    139,    150, 

248,  291,  297,  299,  329,  332,  334. 
Trevelyan,   G-   O.,    95,    141,    178,    194, 

302,  330. 
"Tribune,"    the   N.     Y-,    50,  71,    106 

203,  205,  266,  361. 
Truck  Commission,  139. 
Tyler,  Wat,  277. 
Tyndall,  John,  71- 


U. 


United  States,  civil  war  in,  319,  337. 
United  States,  policy  of   England  to,  45 


Varrautrap,  244. 

Victoria,  Queen,  29,  33,  34,  291,  323. 


374 


INDEX. 


Vincent,  ll;nry,  6i,  28'^,  2f^7 
Visscli-irs.  244. 

Wales,  People  of,  241. 
Wales.    Prince   of,  3.,  34,  51,  59,  78, 
8S,  .4>,  154,  221,291,  311,  323,  349. 
"  War  Clironicles,"  271- 
Waterlow,  Sir  Sidney,  342,  343, 
vvatboii,  James,  61. 
Watts,  Charles,  54- 
"  Westminster  Review,"  39,  5;- 
White,  Mr.,  12- 

Whitworth,  Benjamin,  341,  342- 
Wilkinso.5,  Mr-,  54. 
William  II-,  King  (Rafus),  77. 
William  III.,  Kintj,  279. 
William  IV.,  King,  32,  312. 


vVilling,  Jonas,  192- 

Wolseley,  Sir  Garnet,  218. 

Woman  Suffrage,  12,  21,  45,  53,  3a5. 

Women's  Work,  20. 

"  Work  and  Wages,"  168. 

Working-Men's  College,  loi- 

Wycliffe,  John,  279. 


Yates,  Edmund,  202. 

"  Yorkshire   Association  of  Mechan:i 

Institutes,"  90. 
Young,  Brighara,  50. 

Z. 

"Zadkiel's  Almanac,"  54. 


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